A newspaper in Australia discovered White House documents that indicate President Joe Biden knew France wasn’t told Australia would cancel a $90B submarine deal. This cast doubt on his claims to President Emmanuel Macron.
The Australian reported Monday on the existence of a 15-page document where the National Security Council, along with British and Australian officials, detailed how the world would learn about the new AUKUS pact.
The document, signed by Biden’s advisors, stated that Australia would inform France, on September 16, the day AUKUS was first announced, that it would be withdrawing from the $90 Billion submarine deal.
Monday’s Australian report outlined a 15-page National Security Council document suggesting that President Joe Biden (left), knew that President Emmanuel Macron (right), didn’t know that Australia had informed him that the submarine deal was off prior to the AUKUS announcement
French President Emmanuel Macron and President Joe Biden met in Rome on Friday. Biden said to Macron: ‘I had the impression that France was informed long before the deal was going through’
Biden told French President Emmanuel Macron Friday that he expected the French to be informed before the event.
Biden launched a charm offensive in Rome to smoothen France’s rough feathers before the opening of G20 Leaders Summit.
France had briefly reacted to this deal by It was important to recall ambassadors from Australia as well as the U.S.
Macron was offered an apology by Biden for any miscommunication.
He said, “What we did was clumsy.” “It wasn’t done with a lot grace.
The president stated, “I had the impression that France was informed well before the deal was canceled, but I honestly to God did not know that you had not been,”
At the same moment, First Lady Jill Biden enjoyed Chardonnay with French First Ladies Brigitte Macron at a Rome restaurant.
While Biden has made nice with Macron, Macron and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison have accused each other of being untruthful.
Morrison stated that he told Macron in June that the submarine deal would likely fail.
When Macron was asked in Rome if Morrison was lying, Macron replied that he didn’t think so.
Biden, Macron, and Morrison are all currently attending the COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow, Scotland.
President Joe Biden (left), went on a charm offensive with French President Emmanuel Macron in Rome (right). He said, “What we did was clumsy.” He said to the French leader: “It was not done in a lot of grace.”
Jill Biden, First Lady (right), and Brigitte Macron, French First Lady (left), were also present at First Lady Jill Biden’s (right) court. They ate at a Rome restaurant where they drank Chardonnay.
The Australian has obtained documents that show that NSC officials knew about the French’s pull-out and foresaw their surprise and anger.
According to the paper, U.S. officials spent hours talking with Australian counterparts in Canberra about how to best treat France’s hurt feelings after AUKUS became official.
One source from Australia said that everything was timed and fully understood. ‘We had a decision timeline that everyone had to hit on different marks. The announcement was made within the same news cycle because you can’t cancel the biggest procurement in our history and not have an answer to the question of what next? Everyone knew that this was the only way that we could do it.
The existence of the 15-page document raises questions about whether Biden was properly briefed by his advisers or if he misunderstood it.
The Biden administration hasn’t provided any clear explanation as to what Biden knew.
Former Secretary of State John Kerry was Biden’s climate envoy. He told French broadcaster BFMTV that he had not been aware what had happened.
He asked me. He asked, “What’s your situation?” I explained everything. Kerry replied, “He didn’t know that.”
Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, responded to questions about Kerry’s comments by saying, “I would encourage John Kerry to specifically address the context of his comments.”
Fox’s Peter Doocy had asked her “Why doesn’t he have these things in real-time?”
She said, “Of course he knew that the French were dissatisfied.” “That’s definitely not what he meant to convey.”