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Tag: FC-2010/09/05

The following is a fact-check from the September 5, 2010 episode of Meet the Press:


DAVID PLOUFFE | The Republican Party, when it controlled the House of Representatives, tried to change the rules to allow the majority leader to still serve if they were indicted – TRUE

MR. PLOUFFE: These are the–this is the party that tried to change the rules to allow the majority leader to still serve if he was indicted.

In an investigation of alleged illegal corporate contributions to a political action committee in 2004, three of Tom Delay’s associates, Jim Ellis, John Colyandro, and Warren Robold were indicted by grand jurors in Texas. The investigation involved charges that included raising illegal corporate contributions and funneling them to Republican candidates in the 2002 elections. Then, House Republicans proposed changing their rules to allow members indicted by state grand juries to remain in a leadership position, which would of benefited, then House Majority Leader Tom DeLay in case he was charged by the Texas grand jury.

Tom Delay was eventually indicted by a Texas grand jury on a charge of criminally conspiring with two political associates to infuse illegal corporate contributions into the 2002 state elections, which helped the Republican Party reorder the congressional map in Texas to increase its control of the House in Washington. Five years later, Tom Delay still hasn’t had a trial for the alleged criminal charges.

We rate David Plouffe’s statement TRUE .


The following fact-check took 2 hours to complete.

Here are the statements to fact-check from the September 5, 2010 Meet the Press:
VIDEO/TRANSCRIPT

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Statements are listed in chronological order


SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC) | No Democrats campaigning for office right now are talking about the health care reform bill.

SEN. GRAHAM:  Let’s look at the healthcare bill.  The centerpiece of the Democratic agenda for the first two years has been the healthcare bill.  Not one candidate on the campaign trail is talking about it.

DAVID PLOUFFE | The Republican Party, when it controlled the House of Representatives, tried to change the rules to allow the majority leader to still serve if they were indicted.

MR. PLOUFFE: These are the–this is the party that tried to change the rules to allow the majority leader to still serve if he was indicted.

DAVID PLOUFFE | Rep. Boehner has recently lobbied for donations to the Republican Party from the financial industry on the grounds that Republicans have been protecting the industry by opposing things like financial reform.

MR. PLOUFFE: John Boehner, who would be the speaker of the House, years ago was handing out checks from tobacco companies on the House floor and is now up on Wall Street saying, “Give us money because we’re protecting you by opposing things like financial reform.”

DAVID PLOUFFE | Of the people who’s tax cuts would be allowed to expire as currently proposed by Democrats, 80% are millionaires.

MR. PLOUFFE:  First thing I’d say, what the congressional Republicans are proposing is a permanent extension of tax cuts for the wealthiest, which means 80 percent of the people that get those tax cuts are millionaires, OK? Permanent.

DAVID PLOUFFE | Some economists have said that unemployment might be over 20% had it not been for the Recovery Act.

MR. PLOUFFE: Recovery Act played a big role there.  We would have been unemployment rate probably in the high teens.  Some economists even say over 20 percent, by the way.

RICH LOWRY (National Review) | Independents are more likely to agree with Tea Party members than Democrats on the issues of spending, debt, the Arizona immigration law, and the “Ground Zero Mosque.”

MR. LOWRY: And another huge problem, independents are much closer to the tea partiers on the big issues and even on the smaller hot-button ones–spending, debt, Arizona immigration law, Ground Zero mosque, all that–much closer to the tea partiers than they are to the Democrats.



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