White House counselor Kellyanne Conway Kellyanne Elizabeth ConwaySpecial counsel investigating DeVos for potential Hatch Act violation: report George and Kellyanne Conway honor Ginsburg Trump carries on with rally, unaware of Ginsburg's death MORE on Friday dug in amid criticism of her conduct on a call with a Washington Examiner reporter, calling it "silly" to suggest she had threatened the journalist when she said it would be fair to look at the woman's personal life.

"I never threatened her. Don’t use that word if it’s not true. Do not. If I threaten somebody, you’ll know it," Conway told reporters on the White House driveway.

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"What does that mean, cover her personal life?" a reporter asked.

"Don’t use the word threaten. Don’t use the word investigate," Conway replied. "Stop being so silly."

Conway faced questions on Fox News and from reporters at the White House a day after the Washington Examiner posted audio and a transcript of her tense call with one if its reporters over a report that she was reportedly floated as a chief of staff candidate.

In the conversation, Conway objected that a story written by the reporter, Caitlin Yilek, mentioned that her husband, George Conway George Thomas ConwayGeorge and Kellyanne Conway honor Ginsburg Lincoln Project releases new ad blasting Trump as 'a horrible role model' George Conway hits Trump on 9/11 anniversary: 'The greatest threat to the safety and security of Americans' MORE, is a fierce critic of 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 on Twitter. Conway criticized Yilek's work and dismissed the relevance of her husband in writing about her.

On Friday, Conway called the story "lazy" and again questioned Yilek's work.

"Why do you call yourself a breaking news reporter if you’re not writing breaking news and you’re not even being a reporter?" Conway said. "Don’t characterize the way I feel without ever having met me, talked to me or called me for a story."

Yilek is also a former reporter at The Hill.

Audio of the call circulated on social media after it was posted Thursday afternoon. On the call, Conway questions why Yilek felt the need to include her husband's tweets.

"He gets his power through me, if you haven’t noticed," Conway said. "Not the other way around. And if these are the, quote, standards, unquote, at the Washington Examiner, then yes, I’d be happy to talk to your editor. But I’ve known your editor since before you were born. So, I can call your editor either way. I’m just trying to give you a chance to explain why you think what you wrote qualifies as breaking news or reporting.”

Toward the end of the call, Conway suggests that Yilek's personal life would be fair game to explore.

“Listen, if you’re going to cover my personal life, then we’re welcome to do the same around here," Conway told Yilek.