Boehner: No 'secret conspiracy' to jam through immigration overhaul

The Hill reports:

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Tuesday told a private Republican Party meeting that there was no “secret conspiracy” to jam through an immigration overhaul, according to one member in the room.

Boehner used the meeting to walk back his comments last week seen as mocking his own members for lacking the courage to tackle immigration reform that he has advocated but that many conservative in the House Republican conference continue to resist.

Boehner instead put the blame for inaction back on President Obama, saying public and congressional distrust of the president was why the issue had not advanced in the House.

“He was crystal clear,” Rep. Steve Southerland (R-Fla.) said after the meeting. “President Obama is the reason we don’t have immigration [reform.]”

I guess when you have to deny it....