SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Vice President Mike Pence speaks at a campaign rally for Sen. Luther Strange (R-Ala.) at HealthSouth Aviation on September 25, 2017 in Birmingham, Alabama. (Photo: Hal Yeager/Getty Images)
Pence Caught in Yet Another 'Demonstrably False' Claim After WikiLeaks/Don Jr. Revelations
Pence said "nothing could be further from the truth" in response to claims that members of Trump's campaign had been in contact with WikiLeaks
Nov 14, 2017
"Nothing could be further from the truth" was how Mike Pence, then Donald Trump's running mate, responded in October of 2016 to claims that members of Trump's presidential campaign were in contact with WikiLeaks in the run-up to the November election.
"Boy, Pence sure does get caught saying demonstrably false things in public a lot, doesn't he?"
--Chris Hayes, MSNBC
Late Monday, after The Atlantic reported that a member of Trump's presidential campaign--the president's eldest son Donald Trump Jr.--had, in fact, been in contact with WikiLeaks beginning in September of 2016, Pence was quick to deny that he had any knowledge of the communications.
"The Vice President was never aware of anyone associated with the campaign being in contact with WikiLeaks," Pence's office said in a statement. "He first learned of this news from a published report earlier tonight."
As many were quick to point out, Pence's denial of knowledge fits with a longstanding pattern that the vice president followed throughout the presidential campaign and during his short tenure in office.
Politico's Matthew Nusbaum summarizes:
Most famously, Pence said during the transition that Michael Flynn had not discussed sanctions with the Russian ambassador during the transition. Flynn had, in fact discussed those sanctions, as the Washington Post reported in February. The White House had previously been alerted that those conversations had been picked up by intelligence officials, though Pence said he learned about them from media reports. Flynn was fired as a result of misleading the vice president, Trump would later say.
Pence had also claimed the transition was not seeking a security clearance for Flynn's son, Michael Flynn Jr., which also proved false.
While Pence's office has maintained that the vice president had merely been speaking based on the information at his disposal, commentators were quick to express skepticism of his repeated denial of knowledge of campaign-related matters, given his close proximity to the president.
"Boy, Pence sure does get caught saying demonstrably false things in public a lot, doesn't he?" wrote MSNBC's Chris Hayes following Pence's statement.
Others were similarly incredulous that the vice president could be so thoroughly out of the loop, with some arguing that Pence's efforts to distance himself from campaign-related matters is part of an effort to keep his presidential prospects alive.
"Practically since his appointment as vice president, speculation has run rampant about the White House #2 one day becoming #1," writes The Week's Jeva Lange. "Of course, those ambitions would require some careful distancing from thorny situations like those involving Trump Jr."
\u201cAt some point Mike Pence will figure out that he was the running mate on a presidential campaign https://t.co/zv4hePAI89\u201d— Simon Maloy (@Simon Maloy) 1510623464
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
"Nothing could be further from the truth" was how Mike Pence, then Donald Trump's running mate, responded in October of 2016 to claims that members of Trump's presidential campaign were in contact with WikiLeaks in the run-up to the November election.
"Boy, Pence sure does get caught saying demonstrably false things in public a lot, doesn't he?"
--Chris Hayes, MSNBC
Late Monday, after The Atlantic reported that a member of Trump's presidential campaign--the president's eldest son Donald Trump Jr.--had, in fact, been in contact with WikiLeaks beginning in September of 2016, Pence was quick to deny that he had any knowledge of the communications.
"The Vice President was never aware of anyone associated with the campaign being in contact with WikiLeaks," Pence's office said in a statement. "He first learned of this news from a published report earlier tonight."
As many were quick to point out, Pence's denial of knowledge fits with a longstanding pattern that the vice president followed throughout the presidential campaign and during his short tenure in office.
Politico's Matthew Nusbaum summarizes:
Most famously, Pence said during the transition that Michael Flynn had not discussed sanctions with the Russian ambassador during the transition. Flynn had, in fact discussed those sanctions, as the Washington Post reported in February. The White House had previously been alerted that those conversations had been picked up by intelligence officials, though Pence said he learned about them from media reports. Flynn was fired as a result of misleading the vice president, Trump would later say.
Pence had also claimed the transition was not seeking a security clearance for Flynn's son, Michael Flynn Jr., which also proved false.
While Pence's office has maintained that the vice president had merely been speaking based on the information at his disposal, commentators were quick to express skepticism of his repeated denial of knowledge of campaign-related matters, given his close proximity to the president.
"Boy, Pence sure does get caught saying demonstrably false things in public a lot, doesn't he?" wrote MSNBC's Chris Hayes following Pence's statement.
Others were similarly incredulous that the vice president could be so thoroughly out of the loop, with some arguing that Pence's efforts to distance himself from campaign-related matters is part of an effort to keep his presidential prospects alive.
"Practically since his appointment as vice president, speculation has run rampant about the White House #2 one day becoming #1," writes The Week's Jeva Lange. "Of course, those ambitions would require some careful distancing from thorny situations like those involving Trump Jr."
\u201cAt some point Mike Pence will figure out that he was the running mate on a presidential campaign https://t.co/zv4hePAI89\u201d— Simon Maloy (@Simon Maloy) 1510623464
"Nothing could be further from the truth" was how Mike Pence, then Donald Trump's running mate, responded in October of 2016 to claims that members of Trump's presidential campaign were in contact with WikiLeaks in the run-up to the November election.
"Boy, Pence sure does get caught saying demonstrably false things in public a lot, doesn't he?"
--Chris Hayes, MSNBC
Late Monday, after The Atlantic reported that a member of Trump's presidential campaign--the president's eldest son Donald Trump Jr.--had, in fact, been in contact with WikiLeaks beginning in September of 2016, Pence was quick to deny that he had any knowledge of the communications.
"The Vice President was never aware of anyone associated with the campaign being in contact with WikiLeaks," Pence's office said in a statement. "He first learned of this news from a published report earlier tonight."
As many were quick to point out, Pence's denial of knowledge fits with a longstanding pattern that the vice president followed throughout the presidential campaign and during his short tenure in office.
Politico's Matthew Nusbaum summarizes:
Most famously, Pence said during the transition that Michael Flynn had not discussed sanctions with the Russian ambassador during the transition. Flynn had, in fact discussed those sanctions, as the Washington Post reported in February. The White House had previously been alerted that those conversations had been picked up by intelligence officials, though Pence said he learned about them from media reports. Flynn was fired as a result of misleading the vice president, Trump would later say.
Pence had also claimed the transition was not seeking a security clearance for Flynn's son, Michael Flynn Jr., which also proved false.
While Pence's office has maintained that the vice president had merely been speaking based on the information at his disposal, commentators were quick to express skepticism of his repeated denial of knowledge of campaign-related matters, given his close proximity to the president.
"Boy, Pence sure does get caught saying demonstrably false things in public a lot, doesn't he?" wrote MSNBC's Chris Hayes following Pence's statement.
Others were similarly incredulous that the vice president could be so thoroughly out of the loop, with some arguing that Pence's efforts to distance himself from campaign-related matters is part of an effort to keep his presidential prospects alive.
"Practically since his appointment as vice president, speculation has run rampant about the White House #2 one day becoming #1," writes The Week's Jeva Lange. "Of course, those ambitions would require some careful distancing from thorny situations like those involving Trump Jr."
\u201cAt some point Mike Pence will figure out that he was the running mate on a presidential campaign https://t.co/zv4hePAI89\u201d— Simon Maloy (@Simon Maloy) 1510623464
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.