NBC, ABC News Press White House on Secret Sebelius Meetings (+video)

During Friday’s White House briefing, Jonathan Karl of ABC News and Peter Alexander of NBC News both pressed White House spokesman Jay Carney on a Government Accountability Institute (GAI) report that found President Obama and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius had met only once during the three and half years after the passage of ObamaCare.

After Alexander asked about the GAI report, Carney bizarrely suggested that Alexander should have called him to ask the question. Apparently, Carney would have preferred not to have to answer the question on camera — and for good reason; his answer only opened the door to more questions.

Alexander got to the heart of the matter by pointing out that President Obama’s calendar lists all kinds of meetings with other cabinet secretaries, including 277 with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. And yet, although she is in charge of Obama’s signature legislative accomplishment, this calendar shows no meetings with Sebelius.

“That draws some questions about the president’s leadership skills as the chief executive,” Alexander said. “And I’m curious–” A visibly agitated Carney interrupted. “Peter, I wish you had called me beforehand,” Carney scolded. “Because I am in a very terrible charitable mood today, I won’t go too strong on this.”

Carney went on to claim that Sebelius met “often” with the president, but that those meetings were not recorded on the visitors logs or any public calendars. Carney didn’t know how many times the two had met, and did not bother to explain why these calendars record numerous other cabinet officials meeting dozens, and in some cases, hundreds of times with the president.

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