jAZ
06-20-2007, 04:51 PM
Pretty straightforward lie.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2007/06/gingrich_rewrit.html
It begins with Gingrich saying, "Mohamed Atta, and several other 9/11 hijackers were in the United States illegally."
Photos of Atta and other 9/11 hijackers appear and the word "Illegally" -- printed in bold, red letters -- flashes over the screen.
"Today, more than five years since that tragic day, our borders remain open to gangs, drug dealers and terrorists," says Gingrich in the ad.
However, a check of the 9/11 Commission Report reveals that Atta entered the United States on a tourist visa and the U.S. subsequently approved him for a student visa on July 17, 2001 that was good through October 1, 2001.
"Atta was in the country legally on 9/11," confirmed Janice Kephart, a former counsel to the 9/11 Commission and co-author of the commission's report on 9/11 and Terrorist Travel to ABC News.
"Atta was now legally in the United States until the day of the planned attack," reads the commission's report on 9/11 and terrorist travel on page 36.
All of the 19 men who hijacked planes on September 11th, including Atta, entered the United States on a tourist, or student visa, issued by the former U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Atta's visa status was widely reported in the media in 2002 when the INS famously sent a letter to Atta's Florida flight school, which was received on the sixth month anniversary of 9/11. The letter said the INS had approved a request to change Atta's status from a tourist visa to a student visa weeks before the attacks.
If that's not bad enough, when his campaign is caught lying, they respond with "well, he *shoulda* been illegal"...
WTF????
However, Gingrich aides defend the ad, arguing Atta's legal status was given to him by mistake.
"Many of them had incomplete or absurd information on their (visa) applications," said Newt Gingrich's spokesperson Rick Tyler.
Tyler conceded that Atta -- who Gingrich names specifically in the ad -- was approved by the INS for legal status. But, he said, that's only because INS wasn't doing its jobs properly.
"Now, you might say that's a stretch that they were illegal, but all of them should have been stopped," he said, "none of them would have gained legal access had their paper work been filed correctly, so I would argue that they were all illegal."
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2007/06/gingrich_rewrit.html
It begins with Gingrich saying, "Mohamed Atta, and several other 9/11 hijackers were in the United States illegally."
Photos of Atta and other 9/11 hijackers appear and the word "Illegally" -- printed in bold, red letters -- flashes over the screen.
"Today, more than five years since that tragic day, our borders remain open to gangs, drug dealers and terrorists," says Gingrich in the ad.
However, a check of the 9/11 Commission Report reveals that Atta entered the United States on a tourist visa and the U.S. subsequently approved him for a student visa on July 17, 2001 that was good through October 1, 2001.
"Atta was in the country legally on 9/11," confirmed Janice Kephart, a former counsel to the 9/11 Commission and co-author of the commission's report on 9/11 and Terrorist Travel to ABC News.
"Atta was now legally in the United States until the day of the planned attack," reads the commission's report on 9/11 and terrorist travel on page 36.
All of the 19 men who hijacked planes on September 11th, including Atta, entered the United States on a tourist, or student visa, issued by the former U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Atta's visa status was widely reported in the media in 2002 when the INS famously sent a letter to Atta's Florida flight school, which was received on the sixth month anniversary of 9/11. The letter said the INS had approved a request to change Atta's status from a tourist visa to a student visa weeks before the attacks.
If that's not bad enough, when his campaign is caught lying, they respond with "well, he *shoulda* been illegal"...
WTF????
However, Gingrich aides defend the ad, arguing Atta's legal status was given to him by mistake.
"Many of them had incomplete or absurd information on their (visa) applications," said Newt Gingrich's spokesperson Rick Tyler.
Tyler conceded that Atta -- who Gingrich names specifically in the ad -- was approved by the INS for legal status. But, he said, that's only because INS wasn't doing its jobs properly.
"Now, you might say that's a stretch that they were illegal, but all of them should have been stopped," he said, "none of them would have gained legal access had their paper work been filed correctly, so I would argue that they were all illegal."