As the Trump administration continues to march toward war with Iran, CNN hit the pause button Monday morning to do a much-needed fact check on the heated rhetoric coming from the White House in recent days. And they managed to expose a raft of lies that are emanating from administration officials.
CNN host John Avlon began by taking on a claim made by Vice President Mike Pence, who suggested on Twitter that Iran and Iranian General Quasem Suleimani were somehow linked to the terror attacks of September 11, 2001:
“As far as the 9/11 Commission report, it doesn’t mention Suleimani at all. It does, however, state that eight to ten of the hijackers traveled between Iran and Afghanistan but says we found no evidence that Iran or Hezbollah was aware of the planning for the 9/11 attack.”
Avlon added that it appears the administration wants to tie Iran to 9/11 so it can use the original authorization for the use of military force passed by Congress not long after Al Qaeda launched multiple terror attacks on the United States.
And then the CNN host went after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who suggested over the weekend that the Iran nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama administration had led to the current tensions with the Iranian government:
“You can’t say this war kicked off when the deal was made, because since Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018, Iran restarted the nuclear weapons program it had halted under the agreement. This is the Trump administration’s ‘arsonist-as-a-firefighter approach: Lots of tough talk, but few honest answers.”
It seems highly suspicious that Trump decided to assassinate General Suleimani as Congress was returning from its holiday recess and moving ahead with his impeachment. Could that be why he gave an order to kill one of the most powerful men in Iran without even bothering to notify key congressional leaders before he did so?
As Trump has proven on numerous occasions, he cannot be trusted. And it’s not a stretch to believe he would start a war to try and change the subject from his own alleged crimes in office.
Featured Image Via CNN Screenshot
