it’s not crack, it’s their way to get out of trouble….
technically ad hominem attack.

(of an argument or reaction) directed against a person rather than the position they are maintaining.

pete hegseth did this pretty effectively when he was caught, red handed, breaking national security laws and records laws using a 3rd party signal fork for war plans.
every time he was asked about it he just started insulting the journalist until people stopped asking about it.