By Robert Laurie ——Bio and Archives--January 16, 2018
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The No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, Sen. Dick Durbin, said in a Facebook post that a House Republican leader told off President Barack Obama during a negotiation meeting, and that GOP leaders are so disrespectful it’s practically impossible to have a conversation with them. But Wednesday afternoon, both the White House and House speaker’s office denied his claims. “In a ‘negotiation’ meeting with the president, one GOP House Leader told the president: ‘I cannot even stand to look at you,’” Durbin wrote in a post on his Facebook page over the weekend.Unfortunately, both Republicans AND the Obama White House were quick to point out that Durbin's version of events was bogus.
Asked about the post in the White House daily briefing, press secretary Jay Carney said he checked with a participant of the meeting in question. “I looked into this and spoke with somebody who was in that meeting and it did not happen,” Carney said. House Speaker John Boehner’s spokesman also said the post was not about the top House Republican. “The speaker certainly didn’t say that and does not recall anyone else doing so,” Michael Steel said.Boehner's spokesperson issued the following statement:
“Sen. Durbin’s accusation is a serious one, and it appears to have been invented out of thin air. The senator should disclose who told him this account of events, retract his reckless allegation immediately, and apologize.”Durbin refused to back down, probably because as the saying goes: "A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." The fact is, Durbin likes to spread hokum when it suits his agenda.
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