Despite an admission by the most liberal mainstream media outlets like the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times that the Palestinian Authority and Hamas have formed a new unity government, State Department spokesman Jen Psaki said Hamas has no influence over the Palestinian Authority. In response to a question about the Obama administration’s decision to continue funding the Palestinian Authority, Psaki actually said something that would make Baghdad Bob blush:

“We don’t believe that Hamas plays a role in the government.”

Huh?

Psaki: Paid State Dept Liar calls Hamas Liars

The New York Times reported in April the following:

The unity pact, coming days before the April 29 expiration date for the American-brokered peace talks that have been the mainstay of Secretary of State John Kerry’s tenure, surprised officials in Washington, which, like Israel, deems Hamas a terrorist group and forbids direct dealings with it.

In the same article, Psaki was quoted as saying that the hatchet buried between Hamas and the PA was “disappointing” and “troubling”.

Obviously, an acknowledgment by the administration that Hamas and PA are unified would challenged even the best of spinmeisters. They would be tasked with reconciling the funding of Hamas with a policy that forbids it.

Last month, the New York Times reported on the ceremony that officially launched the marriage between Hamas and the PA:

The new government, led by Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, a linguist and former university president who has held the top post in the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority for the past year, is made up largely of lawyers, businessmen and academics who are not formally tied to either Fatah or Hamas. The 16 ministers in his cabinet include three women and four Gaza residents, who were barred by Israel from traveling to attend Monday’s swearing-in. About half served in the previous government, including the two deputy prime ministers.

The ceremony lasted about 10 minutes, as each minister swore to respect the law and serve the Palestinian people — one, the minister of tourism and archaeology, added, “in full” — before shaking hands with Mr. Hamdallah and Mr. Abbas.

Just because it’s so good, here is the quote from Psaki yesterday, in which she essentially calls Hamas liars in an effort to justify continued funding:

“We don’t believe that Hamas plays a role in the government.”

While lying is as frequent with Hamas as breathing is to normal people, the group is not likely to challenge Psaki. After all, she’s lying too:

h/t WFB