WH struggles to explain press evacuation, while first family & employees stayed

White House spokesman Josh Earnest was stumped by agitated reporters demanding to know why the West Wing staff and the first family remained in the building during a bomb threat, while journalists were evacuated by the Secret Service.

That's unusual - the White House briefing interrupted by the Secret Service, press asked to evacuate. pic.twitter.com/sGKwT3fsIH

— Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) June 9, 2015

Earnest could not explain why most of the White House staff, including President Obama and his family, stayed put. He also could not explain why the cameras in the driveway were faced down and away from the West Wing, while cameras inside the press room were covered.

White House reporters being evacuated after interruption in middle of daily televised briefing pic.twitter.com/hiFc2iO5wK

— Josh Lederman (@joshledermanAP) June 9, 2015

Secret Service interrupted the press conference shortly after 2 PM local time Tuesday, and herded the reporters to the nearby Eisenhower building, as bomb squads and dogs searched the briefing room. No explosives were found.

#breaking Sr Capitol sources tells me they believe the same subject who called in threat at Dirksen also phoned in a White House threat.

— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) June 9, 2015

According to anonymous government sources, the same person whose call prompted the evacuation of the Dirksen Senate Office Building earlier on Tuesday was behind the call about the White House press room. Capitol Police later said the “suspicious object” in the Senate building’s courtyard was an abandoned lunchbox.