White House trade adviser Peter Navarro on Friday declined to say whether he's ever raised investigating Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden Joe BidenFormer Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick Bloomberg rolls out M ad buy to boost Biden in Florida MORE during talks with Chinese officials.

During a combative exchange with CNN's Jim Sciutto, Navarro slammed the network's reporting that President Trump Donald John TrumpFederal prosecutor speaks out, says Barr 'has brought shame' on Justice Dept. Former Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick MORE spoke about Biden's political prospects during a June call with Chinese President Xi Jinping without denying its accuracy.

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Asked multiple times if he had ever personally broached the idea of investigating Biden during his conversations with China, Navarro refused to answer directly.

"I will never talk about what happens inside the White House. Not confirm or deny, because that’s the slippery slope," Navarro said during the exchange.

Asked again later in the interview whether he'd spoken about Biden, Navarro pivoted to criticize the anonymous sources in CNN's reporting.

"Have you ever given me a source that’s other than anonymous for any of this crap?" Navarro said. "That’s what I want to know."

Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro refuses to answer when CNN's Jim Sciutto asks if he's ever raised Biden with the Chinese.



"I will never talk about what happens inside the White House. Okay? Not confirm or deny. Because that’s the slippery slope." pic.twitter.com/XQRu2pAjAb — Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) October 4, 2019

Trump, who is already facing an impeachment inquiry for urging the Ukrainian president to investigate Biden and Hunter Biden, his son, told reporters on Thursday that he believed China should investigate the Bidens.

CNN reported later in the day that Trump spoke about the political prospects of Joe Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth WarrenOvernight Defense: Appeals court revives House lawsuit against military funding for border wall | Dems push for limits on transferring military gear to police | Lawmakers ask for IG probe into Pentagon's use of COVID-19 funds On The Money: Half of states deplete funds for Trump's 0 unemployment expansion | EU appealing ruling in Apple tax case | House Democrats include more aid for airlines in coronavirus package Warren, Khanna request IG investigation into Pentagon's use of coronavirus funds MORE (D-Mass.), both polling at the top of the 2020 Democratic field, during the call with Xi, and that Trump said he would remain silent on Hong Kong protests amid trade talks.

The Trump administration has been locked in a lengthy trade war with China with negotiations stalling in recent months.

The president's comments, paired with CNN's reporting, have led to calls from some Democrats to release a transcript of Trump's call with Xi.

"How is it that a U.S. president going forward is ever going to be able to have a candid conversation with a foreign leader about any sensitive matter if the jackals are always wanting to get things revealed," Navarro said Friday. "You guys want every transcript revealed of everything."

He added that the president had a right to put the transcripts of his calls with world leaders on a secure server intended for national security matters, citing the prevalence of leaks coming from the White House.

Navarro's response is likely to deepen Democrats' calls for documents from the White House as part of their impeachment inquiry into whether Trump abused his office for personal gain.

Texts released by three House committees late Thursday showed that State Department officials told a Ukrainian adviser that a White House meeting would be contingent on the country investigating matters related to the Bidens and the 2016 election.