White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki declined to apologize — either on her own or on behalf of President Joe Biden — for claiming that U.S. Border Patrol Agents on horseback had “whipped” migrants in order to drive them back.
Fox News White House Correspondent Peter Doocy posed the question, beginning by noting that the Department of Homeland Security had debunked the claim.
Doocy: "We've been told that the mounted Border Patrol officers [Biden] accused of whipping migrants had been notified they will not face criminal charges. So when is [he] going to apologize to them?
Psaki says she doesn't have an "update on that." pic.twitter.com/yKsEw99evn
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) April 18, 2022
“One additional question about something that happened a few months ago down at the border,” Doocy began. “We’ve been told that the mounted Border Patrol officers the president accused of ‘whipping migrants’ have been notified they will not face criminal charges. So when is the president going to apologize to them?”
“There is a process and an investigation that has gone through the Department of Homeland Security,” Psaki replied, adding, “I don’t have any update on that.”
Doocy pressed again, noting that what President Biden had accused the Border Patrol agents of doing was a criminal offense — and the fact that they were not going to be charged suggested that the investigation had cleared them of any wrongful action.
Doocy: Biden "said that they were whipping people, which would be a criminal offense and they've been told they're not going to be criminally charged."
Psaki: "And there was an investigation into that, and I'll let [DHS] announce any conclusion of that investigation." pic.twitter.com/s3BKzm2xH3
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) April 18, 2022
“The president said that they were whipping people, which would be a criminal offense and they’ve been told they’re not going to be criminally charged, so —” Doocy tried again.
“And there was an investigation into that, and I’ll let the Department of Homeland Security announce any conclusion of that investigation” Psaki interrupted.
A viral photo started the whole controversy — but even Paul Ratje, the photographer who took the photo in question, said that he had never witnessed Customs and Border Patrol agents whipping anyone.
Photographer Who Took Horseback Border Patrol Photos: ‘I’ve Never Seen Them Whip Anyone’ https://t.co/PdmBR4tMZY pic.twitter.com/HOHsxlnCnT
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) September 24, 2021
Despite his comments – and the hundreds who flooded social media to explain that the agents were riding with split reins and were not whipping anyone — many in the media and in the Biden administration were quick to vilify the agents and ask questions later.
DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas called the images “horrifying” and claimed that they “conjured up the worst elements of our nation’s ongoing battle against systemic racism.”
Sec. Mayorkas says "we saw horrifying images" of Border Patrol horse patrol. He says the images "conjured up the worst elements of our nation's ongoing battle against systemic racism."
— Philip Melanchthon Wegmann (@PhilipWegmann) September 24, 2021
President Biden responded to the situation with condemnation as well, saying, “I take responsibility. It was horrible to see, to see people treated like they did, with horses nearly running them over. People being strapped. It’s outrageous … I promise you those people will pay. They will be investigated. There will be consequences.”
“I think the president wanted to make clear to people who watched those photos, who had understandably emotional responses, that that’s not acceptable to him, even while the investigation is being — is being — is happening and moving forward,” Psaki added at the time. “That will determine what the consequences will look like.”