Lie of the Year 2017: Russia is a 'made-up story'
WHEN & WHERE WAS IT SAID?
When: May 11, 2017
Where: NBC News interview with Lester Holt, White House
Original context / reporting ↗this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made up story
WHAT HE SAID (WORD FOR WORD, SADLY)
He said, "this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made up story." PolitiFact named 'Russian election interference is a made-up story' its 2017 Lie of the Year.
WHEN AND WHERE (THE RECEIPTS HAVE A CALENDAR)
NBC News interview with Lester Holt at the White House, May 11, 2017. PolitiFact's award is dated Dec. 12, 2017.
WHAT THE RECORD SHOWS (BRING SNACKS)
- U.S. intelligence agencies concluded in January 2017 that Russia interfered in the 2016 election.
- PolitiFact's Lie of the Year concerned the repeated dismissal of the interference as 'made up', not individual contacts.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Whether anyone colluded was a separate question. That interference happened was not.
PolitiFact named 'Russian election interference is a made-up story' its 2017 Lie of the Year.
Finding: FalseBold. Wrong, but bold.
Sources & further reading
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Editorial note: each article reports only details found in the linked sources. Where a source does not give a venue, date or exact wording, we say so instead of guessing. Quotations may need further editorial verification against primary recordings or transcripts.