Biden Spox Does Battle With CNN Host: ‘I Actually Dispute The Whole Premise Of That Question’

 Ian Sams, White House Spokesman for Oversight and Investigations, got into a brief spat with CNN’s Phil Mattingly during a Thursday broadcast of “CNN This Morning,” accusing the anchor of pushing the same “talking points” he had heard from Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH).

Sams voiced his objection to the way Mattingly framed his initial question — which was a side-by-side comparison of direct quotes from President Joe Biden during the 2020 campaign, the White House, and the president’s embattled son Hunter Biden — regarding House Republicans’ investigation into the Biden family’s alleged foreign business dealings.

WATCH:

Mattingly referenced Hunter Biden’s Wednesday press conference — which he gave outside the Senate side of the Capitol complex while actively defying a subpoena from the House — and noted that the statement he gave had been an “evolution” from past statements.

“In the statement that Hunter Biden made yesterday said, ‘Let me say it as clearly as I can. My father was not financially involved in my business,'” Mattingly began. “He was unequivocal about that. But that is an evolution of where the president had been during the campaign, where the White House had been at the start of the administration. Not involved financially in the business is very different than never talked about the business, not been involved in the business at all. Was that an intentional point of clarity, do you think?”

“I actually dispute the whole premise of that question,” Sams objected.

“Why?” Mattingly asked.

“It’s one of Jim Jordan’s favorite little shiny objects is to try to take a semantic thing and make an argument that is, that is somehow far afield from what they’re actually focused on,” Sams continued. “We’ve been extremely clear over and over again for years, and nothing has changed. The president was not in business with his son, period. They’re trying to make up all sorts of allegations and make up lies about him doing things that were wrong and –”

Mattingly interrupted then, saying, “Ian, with respect. I’m not citing Jim Jordan here. I was in some of the White House press briefings where it was said explicitly the president did not talk to his son about business dealings – that is very clearly not the case. ” 

The anchor went on to say that it was also clear that the White House had finessed the statement over time – and while that may not amount to “an impeachable offense” in itself, “it is a fact that the president said one thing that ended up being not true.”

“Again. I dispute that. That’s that. That’s true. That is not true!” Sams insisted. “The truth is that he wasn’t in business with his son. The Republicans have been for years trying to make arguments that he was somehow wrapped up in all of this —”

“I’m not saying that he was in business with his son,” Mattingly repeated.

“– over and over again. Those have been refuted,” Sams continued. “And so what they do is they try to take semantic games and try to distract from the actual truth, which is that all of these things have been debunked. These allegations are false, and they’re using their power in Congress to launch this impeachment inquiry over false allegations that have no basis in reality.”

The House voted this week — along party lines — to continue an official impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.