Jay Sekulow, an attorney on President Donald Trump’s legal team, made the rounds of the Sunday shows to talk about the Russia investigation. But he glossed over relevant facts in defense of his client.
Trump’s Lawyer Spins Russia Facts
Explaining Trump’s Russia Tweets
President Donald Trump went on a tweetstorm about the Russia investigation. He accused his vanquished rival Hillary Clinton of obstruction of justice (without any evidence) and blamed others for his firing of FBI Director James Comey (even though Trump said he was planning to fire Comey regardless of any recommendation).
Preexisting Condition Spin
Opponents of the Republican House health care bill are claiming its provisions on preexisting conditions reach further than they actually do.
Will Paris Have a ‘Tiny’ Effect on Warming?
President Donald Trump and his top environmental official said the Paris Agreement would reduce the global average temperature by only 0.2 degrees Celsius. Former Vice President Al Gore said that’s “not true.” Who’s right?
Trump’s Coal Spin
President Donald Trump touted the opening of a new coal mine in Pennsylvania as evidence that his administration is “putting the miners back to work.” But construction of the mine in question began before the 2016 election. And experts say it’s not evidence of a resurgence in coal mining.
The Comey Hearing
After former FBI Director James Comey testified about his private conversations with President Donald Trump regarding the agency’s Russia investigation, the president’s lawyer gave a brief statement that contained inaccurate and disputed claims.
Gore and Pruitt Debate Paris Targets
Former Vice President Al Gore and Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt made competing claims about whether the U.S. could have changed its emissions targets under the Paris Agreement, instead of pulling out of the deal. Legal experts side with Gore, who claimed the targets could have been changed.
Trump’s Tweets Twist Facts
In the wake of another terrorist attack in Britain, President Donald Trump fired off several tweets about the need for his court-blocked travel ban, contradicting statements from members of his own administration and distorting the facts in the process.
Scott Pruitt and Coal Jobs
The Environmental Protection Agency head said that the “coal sector” added 7,000 jobs in May and “almost 50,000 jobs” since the fourth quarter of last year. But the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports an increase of just 400 coal mining jobs in May and 1,300 since December.
Trump on China, India and Coal
Trump wrongly claimed that the Paris Agreement would allow China to “build hundreds of additional coal plants” and allow India to “double its coal production by 2020” but the United States “can’t build the plants.”