DNC: Gingrich, Republicans Offering "Outright Fallacies"
The DNC criticizes Gingrich for his comments on "The Daily Show," which you can watch below. In the interview, host Jon Stewart pressed Gingrich on his criticism of the decision to read Miranda rights to Christmas Day bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. Stewart noted that shoe bomber Richard Reid, who was detained during the Bush administration, was also mirandized.
Gingrich responded that Reid was an American citizen – a claim the former House speaker later admitted was not true on Twitter with this Tweet: "On daily show was wrong re: ShoeBomber citizenship, was thinking of Padilla. Treating terrorists like criminals wrong no matter who is Pres."
Bond, the Republican senator who has called for the firing of John Brennan, President Obama's top counterterrorism adviser, appeared on MSNBC to discuss the same issue.
Bond did not offer a clear answer when asked the difference between the Abdulmutallab situation and the treatement of Reid and Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui, though he called the decision to mirandize Reid, who like Moussaoui is serving a life sentence, a bad idea. (Watch.)
"It's clear from both of these appearances that Republican leaders are offering nothing but outright fallacies in their effort to turn the President's actions on national security into a political wedge," the DNC said in its release. "Between comments from Gingrich and Bond, the Republicans have shredded any credibility they hoped to have on this issue."
"It's utterly pathetic that in their rush to fear-monger and demagogue our national security - not to mention attack our law enforcement officials - Republicans can't even be bothered to get their facts right," the DNC added.