White House On Durbin’s GOP Quote: ‘It Did Not Happen’

FILE - This Sept. 4, 2013 File photo shows Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the Senate assistant majority leader, arriving for a top-secret briefing for senators with Secretary of State John Kerry at the Capitol in Washingt... FILE - This Sept. 4, 2013 File photo shows Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the Senate assistant majority leader, arriving for a top-secret briefing for senators with Secretary of State John Kerry at the Capitol in Washington. Illinois' congressional delegation is grappling with whether to approve U.S. use of military might against Syria. Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin this week voted in a Senate committee in favor of a resolution authorizing military force but restricting it to 90 days and barring American ground troops from combat. That resolution is to reach the Senate floor next week. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite,File) MORE LESS
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The White House said Wednesday that an alleged exchange between President Barack Obama and a House Republican — relayed to the public by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) — “did not happen.”

Durbin recounted over the weekend that a House Republican told Obama at a recent closed-door meeting that he “cannot even stand to look at” him. But White House spokesman Jay Carney said during his daily press briefing that, after touching base with a participant in the meeting, Durbin’s account is not right.

“It did not happen,” Carney said.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) each said they had no recollection of the exchange at the meeting.

 

UpdateBoehner’s spokesman Brendan Buck released a statement following the press briefing calling on Durbin to retract the claim and apologize. “Senator Durbin’s accusation is a serious one, and it appears to have been invented out of thin air,” Buck said. “The senator should disclose who told him this account of events, retract his reckless allegation immediately, and apologize.”

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