copenlu/druid huggingface dataset:
Claim: Claims that Mitch McConnell has "blocked every single piece of legislation to protect the 2020 election from foreign interference." (Occupy Democrats, 2019-06-12)
Evidence (2024-04-25): "This week Senator McConnell explicitly said why the toughest, fairest bipartisan border legislation in modern American history is stalled: ‘our nominee for president did not seem to want us to do anything at all,’" White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in an email Thursday.
Claim: Claims that Mitch McConnell has "blocked every single piece of legislation to protect the 2020 election from foreign interference." (Occupy Democrats, 2019-06-12)
Evidence (2024-02-29): This strategy had a side effect McConnell probably didn’t foresee. Maintaining a total blockade on bipartisan legislation couldn’t be justified in narrow terms, like opposing the terms and parameters of President Obama’s legislative goals. Republicans could only justify their refusal to negotiate by insisting the very goals Obama wished them to join in solving — economic stimulus, expanding health coverage, and reducing carbon-dioxide emissions — were merely pretexts for his actual goal of extending government control over everything. They had to whip their base into a hysteria that Obama had a secret agenda — Muslim, socialist, perhaps both — to destroy the very fabric of America. [...] When Trump refused to concede the 2020 election, instead concocting preposterous lies that it had been stolen, McConnell shrugged again. "A few legal inquiries from the president do not exactly spell the end of the republic," he insisted. Indeed, Trump’s attempt to overturn the election was no different, somehow, than Democrats denouncing Russian election interference: "Let’s not have any lectures about how the president should immediately, cheerfully accept preliminary election results from the same characters who just spent four years refusing to accept the validity of the last election."
Claim: Claims that Mitch McConnell has "blocked every single piece of legislation to protect the 2020 election from foreign interference." (Occupy Democrats, 2019-06-12)
Evidence (2021-06-22): Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and his fellow Republican senators closed ranks Tuesday and blocked Democrats' For the People Act, a massive election reform bill that's part of a broader political battle over voting rights. [...] The GOP's blockade wasn't a surprise. McConnell has intensely opposed this bill for months and criticized it Tuesday as a "transparently partisan plan to tilt every election in America permanently" in Democrats' favor. [...] Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said former President Donald Trump's false claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him fueled a wave of ill-intentioned election bills in Republican-run state legislatures.
Claim: Claims that Mitch McConnell has "blocked every single piece of legislation to protect the 2020 election from foreign interference." (Occupy Democrats, 2019-06-12)
Evidence (2019-07-25): Republicans in the Senate have twice in 24 hours blocked the advancement of bills aimed at strengthening election security just hours after former special counsel Robert Mueller warned of the continued threat that foreign powers interfering in US elections. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell came to the Senate floor Thursday to personally object to House-passed legislation backed by Democrats. This comes after Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi objected to a trio of bills on Wednesday, in keeping with long standing GOP arguments that Congress has already responded to election security needs for the upcoming election. [...] On Thursday, McConnell called the House-passed legislation Democrats wanted to clear "so partisan it received just one Republican vote over in the House." He added that any election security legislation the Senate takes up must be bipartisan and also alleged that this bill is being pushed by the same Democrats who pushed the "conspiracy theory" of President Donald Trump and Russia.
Claim: Claims that Mitch McConnell has "blocked every single piece of legislation to protect the 2020 election from foreign interference." (Occupy Democrats, 2019-06-12)
Evidence (2019-07-29): MAY 2019: RULES COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN AND MEMBER OF MCCONNELL LEADERSHIP TEAM CONFIRMS MCCONNELL BLOCKING ELECTION SECURITY LEGISLATION [...] JULY 2019: SENATOR MCCONNELL BLOCKS TWO ELECTION SECURITY BILLS CBS News: Mitch Mcconnell Blocks Election Security Legislation. "Hours after former special counsel Robert Mueller testified Wednesday that Russians are still meddling in the U.S. political system, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked the advancement of legislation to secure the nation's election system. Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith also blocked a set of bills on election security Wednesday. In blocking the legislation pushed by Senate Democrats to provide more funding for election security, McConnell declared the effort partisan and insisted the Trump administration has already done much to secure the nation's elections. One bill McConnell objected to would have both required the use of paper ballots and provided funding for the Election Assistance Commission. He also objected to legislation that would have required campaigns and candidates to report offers of election-related aid from foreign governments. McConnell's blocking of the legislation also comes as the Senate Intelligence Committee released a report identifying significant vulnerabilities — like aging voting equipment, paperless machines without backups and insecurity voter registration basis — exist in the United States' election system. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized McConnell's decision to halt additional funding for election security ahead of 2020.
Claim: Claims that Mitch McConnell has "blocked every single piece of legislation to protect the 2020 election from foreign interference." (Occupy Democrats, 2019-06-12)
Evidence (2019-05-16): The Senate will not vote on any legislation to protect US elections from foreign interference, a Republican committee chair said, despite the consensus of the intelligence community that Russia will once again seek to hack election systems and manipulate American voters in 2020. [...] Blunt also acknowledged that it was McConnell who stopped the Rules Committee last year from advancing the Secure Elections Act, a bipartisan bill to protect elections from interference. The committee was poised to mark up that bill last August when the hearing was mysteriously canceled the same morning that it was set to begin. The decision by Republicans not to consider election security bills is frustrating to Democrats who have been cranking out bills to stop foreign interference and increase security ahead of the 2020 elections. In addition to the Secure Elections Act, the Rules Committee has failed to take up the Protecting the Right to Independent and Democratic Elections (PRIDE) Act, the Protecting American Votes and Elections (PAVE) Act, and the bipartisan Honest Ads Act, which would give online political ads the same disclosure requirements as political ads on television and other media. All three bills were introduced last year and reintroduced this year after no action was taken in the previous Congress.
Claim: Claims that Mitch McConnell has "blocked every single piece of legislation to protect the 2020 election from foreign interference." (Occupy Democrats, 2019-06-12)
Evidence (2019-07-26): Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) tried to force action on bipartisan legislation, written with Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and supported by Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.), protecting lawmakers from foreign cyberattacks. "The majority leader, our colleague from Kentucky, must stop blocking this common-sense legislation and allow this body to better defend itself against foreign hackers," he said. [...] McConnell has prevented them all from being considered — over and over again. This is the same McConnell who, in the summer of 2016, when briefed by the CIA along with other congressional leaders on Russia’s electoral attacks, questioned the validity of the intelligence and forced a watering down of a warning letter to state officials about the threat, omitting any mention of Russia. [...] Presumably he thinks whatever influence Russia exerts over U.S. elections will benefit him (he’s up for reelection in 2020) and his party.
Claim: Claims that Mitch McConnell has "blocked every single piece of legislation to protect the 2020 election from foreign interference." (Occupy Democrats, 2019-06-12)
Evidence (2019-07-29): McConnell bristles at ‘hyperventilating hacks’ criticizing his blocking of election security legislation [...] Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did something Monday he rarely does — he got riled up and responded directly to criticism as he defended his decision to block election security bills last week that Democrats attempted to bring to the floor by unanimous consent. [...] Last week, McConnell blocked election security legislation that Democrats attempted to bring to the floor. One of the bills pushed by Democrats in the Senate would require that candidates, campaign officials and family members notify the FBI of any offers of assistance from foreign governments. Another would require the use of paper ballots and boost funding for election security and infrastructure.
Claim: Claims that Mitch McConnell has "blocked every single piece of legislation to protect the 2020 election from foreign interference." (Occupy Democrats, 2019-06-12)
Evidence (2019-07-26): McConnell blocks 2 bills on election security on heels of Mueller warnings [...] One day after former special counsel Robert Mueller issued a stark warning that the Russians are actively seeking to interfere once again in the U.S. elections and called for aggressive deterrence measures, Senate Democrats sought passage of multiple election security bills only to be stopped by Republican Leader Mitch McConnell for a second time this week. [...] But the Kentucky Republican, who is running for a fifth term in 2020, has shut down nearly every effort to bring election security to the Senate floor.
Claim: Claims that Mitch McConnell has "blocked every single piece of legislation to protect the 2020 election from foreign interference." (Occupy Democrats, 2019-06-12)
Evidence (2019-09-17): So I’m here to deliver a warning – Our democracy faces dire threats in 2020. Far too many of our election systems have the security of Swiss cheese, and yet Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump have done virtually nothing to shore up our defenses against foreign hacking. [...] As many of you know, the SAFE Act and every other bill on this issue has been blocked in the Senate by Russia’s number one ally in compromising American election security, Mitch McConnell. [...] Finally, part of the reason that Mitch McConnell and the Republicans have blocked election security legislation is because the voting machine lobby has flexed its muscles.
Claim: Claims that Mitch McConnell has "blocked every single piece of legislation to protect the 2020 election from foreign interference." (Occupy Democrats, 2019-06-12)
Evidence (2019-09-04): The group, Stand Up America, has rented a billboard alongside the Kennedy Bridge near McConnell’s office in downtown Louisville, Ky., from Sept. 1 through Sept. 9 that includes an image of McConnell’s face and the message, "Tell Mitch McConnell: Stop blocking election security funding." [...] Democrats and liberal activists on Twitter have continued calling McConnell "Moscow Mitch" since MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough coined the nickname in July after the Kentucky senator torpedoed two measures intended to prevent foreign interference in U.S. elections. McConnell has defended himself against accusations that he has been soft on Russian election interference. And he made clear this week that he does not like the nickname liberals have given him.
Claim: Claims that Mitch McConnell has "blocked every single piece of legislation to protect the 2020 election from foreign interference." (Occupy Democrats, 2019-06-12)
Evidence (2019-06-13): But those bills are going nowhere — because Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has not allowed a vote on any of them. [...] The election security and foreign interference legislation is garnering renewed attention in the wake of Trump’s comments Wednesday to ABC News that he saw nothing wrong with accepting incriminating information about a political opponent from Russia or other foreign governments. [...] The Democratic-controlled House has passed several election security and foreign interference measures, but few if any of them have a chance of becoming law. The Democrats did insert $600 million for election security in a must-pass spending bill, but that will have to be negotiated.
Claim: Claims that Mitch McConnell has "blocked every single piece of legislation to protect the 2020 election from foreign interference." (Occupy Democrats, 2019-06-12)
Evidence (2019-07-26): By — Gabriela Martinez Gabriela Martinez Leave a comment 0comments Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/how-the-u-s-is-trying-to-improve-election-security-ahead-of-2020 Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter How the U.S. is trying to improve election security ahead of 2020 Politics Updated on Jul 26, 2019 1:25 PM EDT — Published on Jun 17, 2019 6:11 PM EDT In his congressional hearings, former special counsel Robert Mueller reminded Americans not to overlook a crucial finding from his investigation: Russia’s "multiple and systematic" efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. Some lawmakers have backed election security bills, even before Mueller’s latest warning. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has blocked several election security measures, arguing that the federal government is already doing enough to protect elections. McConnell blocked a new election security bill Thursday after it passed the House , saying it was a partisan effort by Democrats that lacked Republican support. McConnell’s latest move came the same day that the Senate Intelligence Committee released a report that found every state in the country was targeted by Russia during the 2016 election.
Claim: Claims that Mitch McConnell has "blocked every single piece of legislation to protect the 2020 election from foreign interference." (Occupy Democrats, 2019-06-12)
Evidence (2021-10-20): Republican lawmakers say the voting restrictions are necessary to preserve election integrity and reduce voter fraud — an echo of former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of fraud in the 2020 election. Trump’s own attorney general, Bill Barr, said there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud nationwide, and in Texas, an official with the secretary of state’s office said the 2020 election was "smooth and secure."
Claim: Claims that Mitch McConnell has "blocked every single piece of legislation to protect the 2020 election from foreign interference." (Occupy Democrats, 2019-06-12)
Evidence (2019-07-26): Mitch McConnell blocks election security legislation Hours after former special counsel Robert Mueller testified Wednesday that Russians are still meddling in the U.S. political system, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked the advancement of legislation to secure the nation's election system. Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith also blocked a set of bills on election security Wednesday. In blocking the legislation pushed by Senate Democrats to provide more funding for election security, McConnell declared the effort partisan and insisted the Trump administration has already done much to secure the nation's elections.
Claim: Claims that Mitch McConnell has "blocked every single piece of legislation to protect the 2020 election from foreign interference." (Occupy Democrats, 2019-06-12)
Evidence (2020-09-23): "More than anyone in America -- and I’d say he’s actually proud of this -- he is responsible for exposing our democracy to a deluge of money, special interests, and foreign interference…There’s only one person who gets to decide whether we vote on something around here, and that’s the Majority Leader. I’d like to see which senators would vote against protecting our elections from Russian interference. I’d like to see it...Come out and vote!" Bennet continued. [...] To this day, he refuses to let us vote on bipartisan bills to protect our elections from foreign interference, or even bills to fully fund our elections so people can vote safely in the middle of a pandemic. There’s only one person who gets to decide whether we vote on something around here, and that’s the Majority Leader. I’d like to see which senators would vote against protecting our elections from Russian interference. I’d like to see it. But we can’t know because he won’t allow it to come here for a vote.
Claim: Claims that Mitch McConnell has "blocked every single piece of legislation to protect the 2020 election from foreign interference." (Occupy Democrats, 2019-06-12)
Evidence (2019-07-30): Mitch McConnell is cranky. You see, he really doesn’t want to safeguard our elections from foreign interference—the kind Robert Mueller warned last week will happen again in 2020 unless action is taken ASAP. We know this based on the fact that he has blocked numerous bipartisan bills intended to prevent election meddling, including one requiring Facebook, Google, and other tech companies to disclose buyers of political ads; one that would impose sanctions on any entity that attacks a U.S. election; and, most recently, one that would have required presidential campaigns to report any offers of assistance from agents of foreign governments, the kind the president has said he would gladly accept. At the same time, the senator from Kentucky doesn’t like when people accurately call him out for stonewalling any and all attempts to actually protect Democracy. It really gets him steamed up! And so, after the Washington Post ran an op-ed denouncing McConnell for systematically preventing the U.S. "from defending ourselves," and saying that he "is, arguably more than any other American, doing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s bidding," well, Mitch had no choice but to throw a massive conniption on the Senate floor.
Claim: claims actor Clint Eastwood authored a long statement in favor of President Donald Trump that starts by saying, "I love when people call Trump Stupid." (Viral Quote, 2019-12-29)
Evidence (2019-12-29): New Hampshire State Rep. Fred Doucette actually wrote an extremely similar statement as a letter to a local newspaper last year. The statement may have gotten linked to Eastwood after the Massachusetts Republican Party shared Doucette’s letter with a meme featuring Eastwood’s likeness.
Claim: claims actor Clint Eastwood authored a long statement in favor of President Donald Trump that starts by saying, "I love when people call Trump Stupid." (Viral Quote, 2019-12-29)
Evidence (2020-01-07): FACT CHECK: ‘I Love When People Call Trump Stupid’ – Did Clint Eastwood Author This Statement About Trump? An image shared on Facebook more than 12,000 times claims actor Clint Eastwood authored a long statement in favor of President Donald Trump that starts by saying, "I love when people call Trump Stupid." [...] "I love when people call Trump Stupid," reads the beginning of Eastwood’s alleged statement. "You mean the multi-billionaire who kicked every Democrats (sic) butt, buried 16 career Republican politicians, and continues to make fools out of once reputable news organizations."
Claim: claims actor Clint Eastwood authored a long statement in favor of President Donald Trump that starts by saying, "I love when people call Trump Stupid." (Viral Quote, 2019-12-29)
Evidence (2024-06-05): A post shared on social media purports that actor and director Clint Eastwood returned his Academy Awards due to Hollywood being "morally bankrupt." [...] The claim is inaccurate. The claim stems from a satirical outlet called Esspots. The article’s headline reads, "Clint Eastwood Returns Oscar, Says ‘It’s Become Too Much Woke.'" (RELATED: No, Warner Bros. Did Not Cancel $10 Million Robert De Niro Project) [...] Eastwood has spoken on "wokeness" before, suggesting that people should "get over" some of the comments that former President Donald Trump has made that have been deemed "racist," according to The Guardian. The actor and director goes on to critique the political climate and societal views in the Esquire interview cited.
Claim: claims actor Clint Eastwood authored a long statement in favor of President Donald Trump that starts by saying, "I love when people call Trump Stupid." (Viral Quote, 2019-12-29)
Evidence (2020-09-23): How Clint Eastwood Really Feels About Donald Trump Actor-turned-director Clint Eastwood has never been one to shy away from talking politics or professing his devotion to the GOP. Lest we never forget his impassioned speech at the 2012 Republican National Convention in which he addressed an empty chair representing that of former President Barack Obama. (Per Washington Post, Eastwood later admitted he regretted the "silly" move.) As of late, it appears Eastwood has experienced an even bigger change of heart — at least when it comes to his support of President Donald Trump. While Eastwood never formally pledged his allegiance to the real-estate tycoon-turned-politician, during a 2016 interview with Esquire, Eastwood certainly seemed to favor Trump over the then-Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton. During the interview, Eastwood opined that Trump was "on to something" and claimed that "secretly everybody's getting tired of political correctness, kissing up." To be fair, Eastwood also acknowledged that he believed there was "much funny business on both sides of the aisle."
Claim: claims actor Clint Eastwood authored a long statement in favor of President Donald Trump that starts by saying, "I love when people call Trump Stupid." (Viral Quote, 2019-12-29)
Evidence (2024-10-06): 2016 election [edit]In the same Esquire interview, Eastwood discussed Donald Trump and how this generation, as he put it, is a "pussy generation." Eastwood elaborated, "All these people that say, 'Oh, you can't do that, and you can't do this, and you can't say that.' I guess it's just the times." Eastwood also said that while he was not endorsing Trump, he did see where he was coming from at times, even though the filmmaker stated that the candidate has said dumb things. "What Trump is onto is he's just saying what's on his mind. And sometimes it's not so good. And sometimes it's … I mean, I can understand where he's coming from, but I don't always agree with it. I haven't endorsed anybody. I haven't talked to Trump. I haven't talked to anybody. You know, he's a racist now because he's talked about this judge. And yeah, it's a dumb thing to say. I mean, to predicate your opinion on the fact that the guy was born to Mexican parents or something. He's said a lot of dumb things. So have all of them. Both sides. [...] - ^ "Fact check: Fabricated Clint Eastwood quote on endorsing Trump for president". Reuters. October 22, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2021. [...] - ^ "Is Clint Eastwood Supporting Donald Trump? Not So Fast!". Extra.
Claim: claims actor Clint Eastwood authored a long statement in favor of President Donald Trump that starts by saying, "I love when people call Trump Stupid." (Viral Quote, 2019-12-29)
Evidence (2020-02-22): Actor and director Clint Eastwood said he wished President Donald Trump acted "in a more genteel way," and voiced his support for former New York Mayor Bloomberg in the upcoming presidential election. [...] The sentiment about Trump echoes similar comments Eastwood made in a 2016 interview with Esquire. "What Trump is onto is he's just saying what's on his mind. And sometimes it's not so good," he said. "And sometimes it's ... I mean, I can understand where he's coming from, but I don't always agree with it." Although he didn't endorse Trump, Eastwood did say in the Esquire interview that he would vote for him over former First Lady Hillary Clinton. "I'd have to go for Trump ... you know, 'cause she's declared that she's gonna follow in Obama's footsteps. There's been just too much funny business on both sides of the aisle. "