Federal law enforcement officials have identified an Army veteran, who was born in the United States, as the sole person responsible for the Jan. 1 terrorist attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people and injured many more. But some Republican politicians and social media posts have wrongly claimed or suggested that the attack was the result of illegal immigration.
With apprehensions at the southern border still near historical highs, some congressional Republicans have raised concerns about the number of border crossers who have been counted as so-called “Special Interest Aliens.”
The U.S. announced it had conducted a drone strike on July 31 killing al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul. But social media posts make unfounded claims that al-Zawahiri had died in 2020 from asthma. The posts cite an unconfirmed story in a British tabloid, which reported a year later that al-Zawahiri was still alive.
As some nationwide protests have turned violent, President Donald Trump pointed to the anti-fascist movement antifa, claiming: “The United States of America will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization.” But there is no such official federal designation for domestic terrorism organizations.
This is our timeline of what Trump administration officials have said about the intelligence assessments behind the U.S. operation to kill Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has criticized President Donald Trump’s decision to kill Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani as “provocative and disproportionate.” But, contrary to the president’s contention, she did not “defend” Soleimani.
Former Vice President Joe Biden denied that he told then-President Barack Obama “not to go after [Osama] bin Laden” in what turned out to be a successful mission to kill the 9/11 mastermind. But Biden wasn’t giving the whole story, and has over time given contradictory accounts.
Vice President Mike Pence tweeted that Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani “[a]ssisted in the clandestine travel to Afghanistan” of some of the terrorists who executed the 9/11 terrorist attacks. However, that doesn’t mean that Iran, or Soleimani, knowingly aided al Qaeda in carrying out the attacks, which may be the impression some got from Pence’s tweet.
During a White House event honoring a now-famous military dog, President Donald Trump repeated a false talking point on how much Islamic State-held land had been recaptured under his presidency.
This week, CNN’s Jake Tapper looks at claims President Donald Trump made about Osama bin Laden and the Iraq war during his Oct. 27 press conference announcing the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.