Jon Karl Grills Earnest: ‘Does the W.H. Believe Hillary Clinton Broke the Law? Yes or No?’

Jon Karl Grills Earnest: ‘Does the W.H. Believe Hillary Clinton Broke the Law? Yes or No?’ (RealClearPolitics)

Jonathan Karl, White House correspondent for ABC News, grilled White House press secretary Josh Earnest at Tuesday's press briefing over revelations that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton used a private email account for most if not all of her communications during her tenure at the State Department.

Karl tried to get a direct yes or no answer but Earnest dodged at every attempt for a straight answer.

"I want to plead to you, please do not refer me to the State Department on this one. I am going to ask you something about the White House and my question is a very basic one," Karl said before he even asked his question.

"Before you ask me I will do my best not to refer you to the State Department, but I want you to remember though that it is the responsibility of the State Department, that agency, to maintain their email system and to ensure that the employees there are in compliance with the Federal Records Act," Earnest said.

Then the grilling began.

"My direct question is: Does the White House believe that Hillary Clinton broke the law? Yes or no?" Karl asked.

What followed was a five minute back and forth between the two which resulted in no definitive answer to the question. 

Karl attempted to penetrate the barrier Earnest placed around the question but to no avail. Earnest repeatedly directed the ABC White House correspondent to the State Department.

"Does the White House believe that Hillary Clinton broke the law or did she fully comply with the law?" was one of Karl's direct questions.

"What does the White House believe? Does the president believe that his former Secretary of State broke the law or did she fully comply with the law?" Karl asked.