White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders speaks to reporters during the daily news briefing at the White House on Feb. 12 (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)The White House was under siege. One White House official said the shooting forced the White House to focus on critical and serious issues — like consoling the victims and trying to heal the nation — rather than getting bogged down in what they view as more trivial West Wing drama. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)“For everyone, it was a distraction or a reprieve,” said the White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to reflect internal conversations. That tragedy united White House aides and the country in their shared mourning for the victims and their families. The public accounts offered by the White House differed from sworn testimony by FBI Director Christopher A. Wray last week.

Source: Washington Post February 19, 2018 19:41 UTC