Under Questioning, Jay Carney Leaves Platinum Coin Wriggle Room

We had an interesting press briefing this afternoon from White House Press Secretary Jay Carney who flatly dismissed talk of using the 14th Amendment to somehow ignore the debt ceiling, but rather pointedly talked around questions about large denomination platinum coins. Carney kept emphasizing that “there is no plan b” for avoiding default and that congress has a responsibility to raise the debt ceiling. But he didn’t say the coin was illegal, and he didn’t say a coin wouldn’t be minted. When he came under really heavy fire, he said people should ask the Treasury. The he reiterated that there’s no plan b and congress needs to raise the debt ceiling.