State Dept. Denies Latest Allegations that US Government Blew up Nord Stream

Veteran investigative reporter Seymour Hersh charges the US military was behind the explosion. Ned Price dismisses claims despite US government statements. Says administration abides by WPR.

[Video on Rokfin, above, has enhanced audio. Also via YouTube without enhanced audio. I’ve long advocated getting into news conferences for lots of reasons. Few in independent media would do it, so I started to do it myself. I hope people will support this work by subscribing to this Substack.]

Sam Husseini: I’m sure you’re aware of the new report from Seymour Hersh, “How America Took Out the Nord Stream Pipeline” and the White House’s denial of any involvement. Given the longstanding US opposition to the pipeline, Secretary Blinken’s calling its demise a “tremendous opportunity” — and under Secretary of State Nuland’s saying that US officials were pleased with the destruction of the pipeline — especially Sweden's secretive investigation, do you think that the US government's denial of involvement is credible?

Ned Price: I absolutely do, and I repeat it here. [Motioning to another reporters] Anything else?

Husseini: So let me follow up on that, if I might. Have you or anybody else at the State Department been in communication with German, Norwegian ambassadors, or other allies or officials on this matter?

Price: On the matter of Nord Stream 2?

Husseini: On the matter of the latest allegations which give a fairly – I mean, it’s one anonymous source, but it is a fairly detailed inside —

Price: It is – [laughs] – it is – it would not be typical for us to engage allies and partners on something that is utter and complete nonsense and that should be rejected out of hand by anyone who is looking at it through an objective lens.

[Motioning to another reporter] Yes, go ahead.

Husseini: One more aspect on this. One of the allegations that Hersh makes is that it was taken off the CIA in order to prevent involvement, oversight as a covert operation. Did you read the piece?

[Hersh in the piece seems to explain brazen statements by Biden and Undersecretary of State for Policy Victoria Nuland made that Nord Stream 2 "will not move forward" prior to the Sept. 26, 2022 explosion — effectively making it a non-covert operation.]

Price: I’m familiar with it.

Husseini: One of his allegations is that it was taken off the CIA platform —

Price: Look, rather than let this propaganda get —

Husseini: No, no, this is a very specific legal —

Price: — be aired in the briefing room – but let —

Husseini: This is a legal question I’m asking.

Price: Let me just say it is a fundamental misunderstanding of oversight in our U.S. Congress. Beyond getting his facts entirely wrong, as he has before in very high-profile ways, it is a fundamental misunderstanding to suggest that our intelligence community is not subject to oversight. Anyone who writes that, anything who writes anything like that should not be believed on —

Husseini: No, no, no, that’s not what he wrote.

Price: — any facts that he or she puts forward.

Husseini: No, no, no. He wrote that it was taken off of the CIA and put under military in order to prevent —

Price: Our military is also subject to rigorous oversight. [To another reporter] Go ahead.

Husseini: That’s my question, that’s my question.

Price: Yes. The answer is yes.

Husseini: Do you recognize and abide by the War Powers Clause [of the Constitution] in such a situation and the War Powers Resolution in such a situation? That’s my question.

Price: [Laughs] In a situation – your question is if we abide by the War Powers Resolution in a situation that never occurred?

[Motioning to another reporter] Go ahead.

Husseini: In any situation —

Price: [Motioning to another reporter] Go ahead.

Husseini: In any situation involving U.S. military, do you abide by the War Powers Resolution?

Price: We follow the law in every instance. [Motioning to another reporter] Yes.

Husseini: Including the War Powers Resolution?

Price: We follow the War Powers Resolution and the broader law in every instance. [Motioning to another reporter] Yes, go ahead.

See followup questioning of Price: “State Dept. Claims “We Follow the Law in Every Instance" but Stonewalls on Law About Israeli Nukes.”

[This is an updated transcript, built on State’s own transcript. The initial transcript posted here is here. Among other things, this refined transcript shows Price tried repeated to get other reporters to “go ahead” and stop my questioning.]

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See past questioning: “State Dept. Refuses to Acknowledge Israel's Nuclear Weapons and Expulsions.”