This week, a reader sent a letter about Sen. John McCain’s claim about former Guantanamo prisoners who have returned to terrorist activities as leaders.
In the FactCheck Mailbag, we feature some of the email we receive. Readers can send comments to editor@factcheck.org. Letters may be edited for length.
Joe Biden’s Productivity Piffle
Vice President Joe Biden falsely claimed that U.S. workers “are three times as productive as any worker in the world.” He’s not even close. By the standard measure for productivity, American workers ranked third in the world behind Norway and Ireland in 2011.
Benghazi Attack, Revisited
President Obama says the May 8 House hearing on Benghazi and subsequent reporting about it produced no new information. That’s largely the case, but the president misrepresented some facts at his May 13 press conference in dismissing the House investigation as a “political circus.”
May 10: Gitmo, Religion in Military, 9/11 Attack
9/11 Hijackers and Student Visas
Lawmakers on both sides of the immigration debate have falsely claimed that “some” or “all” of the 9/11 hijackers were in the U.S. on student visas. Only one of the 19 hijackers came to the U.S. on a student visa. The rest arrived here on tourist or business visas.
Court-Martialed for Sharing Religious Faith?
Q: Has the Pentagon recently declared that sharing one’s faith is punishable by court-martial?
A: No. The Pentagon merely restated its long-held policy that military members can “share their faith (evangelize)” but “not force unwanted, intrusive attempts to convert others … to one’s beliefs (proselytization).”
McCain’s Gitmo Exaggeration
Sen. John McCain exaggerated when he claimed that about 25 percent of prisoners released from Guantanamo have returned to terrorist activities in “leadership positions.”
May 3: Jobs, Climate Change, Immigration
Debatable Facts in South Carolina
In a spirited debate between South Carolina congressional candidates Elizabeth Colbert Busch and Mark Sanford, we found a couple of misleading statements — and one seemingly contradictory exchange about Sanford’s voting record that isn’t.
Congress and an Exemption from ‘Obamacare’?
Is it true that there are bills in Congress that would exempt members and their staffs and families from buying into “Obamacare”?