White House Press Secretary Jay Carney refused to criticize comments about “the Jewish lobby” made former Sen. Chuck Hagel, an adviser to President Obama and candidate for Defense Secretary.

“We’ve been through this before with Ambassador Rice where there is an effort to go after somebody,” Carney said. “Senator Hagel fought and bled for his country, he served his country well, and he was an excellent senator.”

Carney was being asked about a couple of statements by Hagel, such as the remark that “the Jewish lobby intimidates a lot of people up here” and the declaration “I’m a United States Senator, not an Israeli Senator.” Carney refused to comment on those remarks, even though the reporter suggested he might want to given Hagel’s role as an adviser to Obama, quite apart from his potential nomination to lead the Defense Department.