Reporters Press Carney on Harry Reid's Comments That Mitt Romney Never Paid Taxes
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney was repeatedly pressed this afternoon on controversial comments made by Sen. Harry Reid, in which the politician stated that former Gov. Mitt Romney hasn't paid taxes for a decade.
In today's briefing, Carney responded to a reporter's question on whether or not he would denounce the comments by saying, "The dispute is between the Romney campaign and Harry Reid ... and Sen. Reid doesn't take direction, [he] speaks for himself..."
The reporter wouldn't
back down, however, pressing further by asking if this is would be a good example of our 'politics being small,' referencing a line in an Obama ad.
Carney said in answer that 'the broader issue of tax fairness is very important in this campaign.'
Fox News' own White House correspondent Ed Henry was inside the briefing, and said that blowback could come at the administration in the form of allegations they have a double standard. Henry said that earlier in the briefing, Carney denounced a Romney ad that slams the president's record on welfare reform. The argument therefore being, according to Henry, that 'if you're going to denounce that ad, why wouldn't you denounce the tactics of Harry Reid?'
