Washington, DC - February 9, 2017 - U.S. Representative Kathleen Rice, the Ranking Member on the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, released the following statement today after reports that White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer made numerous public references to a terrorist attack in Atlanta that never occurred. Last week and in previous public statements, President Trump’s adviser Kellyanne Conway similarly made several references to a nonexistent “massacre” in Bowling Green, KY.
Statement from Representative Kathleen Rice: “In the past week, two of President Trump’s top spokespeople have repeatedly made public statements referencing terrorist attacks that simply did not occur. That is as dangerous as it is incompetent. We cannot allow this administration to distort the facts when it comes to national security. We cannot allow them to use the very real threat of terrorism as a tool to stoke fears for their political purposes. The American people need to know that this President will keep us safe and confront that threat like a serious adult. It’s extremely disturbing that right now, he seems more focused on telling people who to blame when the next attack comes.”