After former President Donald Trump released a 12-page statement with footnotes questioning the integrity of the House Select Committee investigating the Capitol riot of January 6, 2021, CNN fact checker Daniel Dale summed up his rebuttal in one blunt sentence.
Dale, who rose to prominence while fact-checking Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign and subsequent presidency, said Trump—who regurgitated the same falsehoods about the 2020 general election—was merely issuing the "same lies, now with pointless footnotes."
See his tweet below:
\u201cSame lies, now with pointless footnotes.\u201d— Daniel Dale (@Daniel Dale) 1655161178
Many concurred with Dale's remark and issued further criticisms of the former President.
\u201cTrump is insane or a traitor to our country, pick one.\nI pick traitor.\u201d— craig carl (@craig carl) 1655163337
\u201cAnd hopefully those footnotes will kick him in the ass\u201d— TracyY\ud83c\udf3bungRude (@TracyY\ud83c\udf3bungRude) 1655163136
\u201cDragging the GOP into the lake with him. Good.\u201d— MetaGod \ud83e\udd74\ud83d\ude07\ud83c\udf3b\u262e\ufe0f (@MetaGod \ud83e\udd74\ud83d\ude07\ud83c\udf3b\u262e\ufe0f) 1655165040
\u201cJust can't help himself\u201d— Jack E Payne (@Jack E Payne) 1655161385
\u201cDaniel Dale is getting more succinct, and for good reason.\u201d— Deena Heg (@Deena Heg) 1655161457
\u201cTrump losing his mind AGAIN\u201d— Terry (@Terry) 1655162021
\u201cTrump will continue to Lie as long as Fools keep handing him money!$$$$$\nStop the steal is actually robbing mindless Americans of their savings!\u201d— Mike (@Mike) 1655162184
\u201c#DonaldTrump is worried. He knows his #Insurrectionists will be exposed!\u201d— Franco (@Franco) 1655162214
\u201cWe know the truth\u201d— debra lee (@debra lee) 1655162252
Trump used his 12-page rebuttal to testimony and evidence presented by the House Select Committee as an opportunity to accuse Democrats of ignoring domestic issues while continuing to indulge in what he believes amounts to little more than a political smear campaign against him.
Trump, in the statement released through his Save America PAC, said:
“Seventeen months after the events of January 6th, Democrats are unable to offer solutions. They are desperate to change the narrative of a failing nation, without even making mention of the havoc and death caused by the Radical Left just months earlier."
"Make no mistake, they control the government. They own this disaster. They are hoping that these hearings will somehow alter their failing prospects.”
The rest of his statement, which includes a long series of footnotes and sections that go so far as to cite 2000 Mules—the patently false "documentary" by right-wing political commentator Dinesh D'Souza that asserts geotagged cellphone data proved voter fraud had taken place—are a retread of just about every lie the former President uttered over the last year and a half.
CNN's commentators and fact checkers rebuked Trump's falsehoods very publicly, most notably Jim Acosta, who spent considerable airtime debunking the "Big Lie" and called Trump "an exiled Twitter junkie who is jonesing for a platform."
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