In Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s first interview as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, he made multiple incorrect or misleading statements, including about seed oils, an abortion drug and the notion that the U.S. has the “sickest population in the world.”
The investigative subcommittee of the House Committee on Ethics released a 56-page report on Nov. 16 that found Rep. George Santos of New York “placed his desire for private gain above his duty to uphold the Constitution, federal law, and ethical principles.” Here we recap the findings of the ethics committee.
Q: Is Sen. Robert Menendez on trial — and was his co-defendant convicted on prostitution charges — as an online meme says?
A: No. Menendez was tried on corruption charges last year, but was not convicted. His co-defendant was found guilty of defrauding Medicare in an unrelated case.
President Donald Trump distorted the facts in a Labor Day tweet complaining about the Justice Department’s indictments last month of two of his earliest congressional allies, Reps. Chris Collins and Duncan Hunter Jr.
Q: Has Rep. Maxine Waters recently been “charged on 3 counts”?
A: No. The California Democrat was investigated for ethics violations following a 2008 meeting, but she was found to have broken no rules.
President Trump has acknowledged he reimbursed his personal attorney for the $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. But many questions remain about the payment and whether it may have run afoul of campaign finance or ethics laws.
In a TV ad, Donald Trump falsely claims that Hillary Clinton “handed over American uranium rights to the Russians” as part of a “pay-to-play” scheme to get “filthy rich.” Clinton did not have the authority to unilaterally approve that deal.
An ad from the Republican Governors Association claims that Democratic gubernatorial nominee Mike Ross of Arkansas got a “sweetheart deal” on the 2007 sale of his family-owned pharmacy. That’s not so.
Newt Gingrich complained that in one early burst at the first Florida debate, Mitt Romney said “at least four things that are false” about him. Now Gingrich has specified which claims he was talking about, and we’ve checked the evidence he promised he would — and did — post on his website.
We conclude that two were not false; one was (mostly); and one is a matter of interpretation. In all cases, the claims are in need of further explanation and context.
President Obama’s first 2012 campaign ad misleads on ethics, “clean-energy” jobs and U.S. dependence on oil imports. The spot uses outdated quotes from groups that said his record on ethics is “unprecedented” and that he “kept a promise to toughen ethics rules.” One of those same …