Associated Press/Carolyn Kaster
White House press secretary Sean Spicer walks from the West Wing of White House, in Washington, Tuesday, May 9, 2017, to speak to reporters.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer reportedly hid behind bushes on the White House grounds for several minutes Tuesday evening, as staffers sought to respond to the frenzy of media questions over President Donald Trump's abrupt firing of FBI Director James Comey.Spicer had wanted to return to his office after conducting an interview with Fox Business, but was unable to do so without running into a throng of reporters on his way there, The Washington Post reported.
He only emerged from the bushes after an executive assistant in the press office, Janet Montesi, reportedly confirmed that he would answer reporters' questions so long as they didn't film him.
"Just turn the lights off. Turn the lights off," Spicer told the reporters. "We'll take care of this ... Can you just turn that light off?"
Spicer, Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway, and Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders had all taken to the White House grounds on Tuesday amid a firestorm of media questions and criticisms from Democrats and Republicans alike.
Spicer eventually spoke with reporters for roughly 10 minutes, reportedly standing in the dark between two hedges as he answered and dodged various questions on Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein's role in the probe into Comey, the timing of Comey's firing, and the grand-jury subpoenas that were reportedly issued in an investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
Spicer will get a respite from the media's Comey questions on Wednesday, as Sarah Huckabee Sanders is set to fill in for him during the daily press briefings for the remainder of the week.