Fact Checker: Trump's claim that Obama first 'identified' the 7 countries in his travel ban
By Glenn Kessler February 7 at 3:00 AM
“The seven countries named in the Executive Order are the same countries previously identified by the Obama administration as sources of terror.”
— President Trump, statement regarding executive order, Jan. 29, 2017
“He is calling for extreme vetting from seven countries that President Obama first identified. All he did was take his lead. He didn’t even add to the list.”
— Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president, interview on MSNBC’s “Hardball,” Feb. 2, 2017
-snip-
The Pinocchio Test
The issue is much more complex than suggested by the Trump White House. The original intent of the law was to insist on greater scrutiny of people who had traveled to Syria and Iraq, even if they were citizens of countries that qualified for a visa waiver. In other words, lawmakers were seeking to identify possible radicalization, not single out citizens.
Four countries were identified by Congress, in a bill signed by Obama, and then the Obama administration added three more. But Obama — and Democrats in Congress — wanted to require greater visa scrutiny of people who had traveled to those countries. When given a chance, the Obama administration specifically rejected the citizenship-based restrictions that Trump has now ordered. So while the names are the same, the approach is the polar opposite.
Full article:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/02/07/trumps-claim-that-obama-first-identified-the-seven-countries-in-his-travel-ban/?utm_term=.6767740f565c&wpisrc=nl_politics&wpmm=1
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OFFS... it's still Obama's fault? Thanks Obama!
