Greg Jaffe, The New York Times; Hegseth Cites Falsehood to Defend His Firing of Senior Officers
The defense secretary said at a House hearing that President Barack Obama had fired 197 generals, a figure that the Pentagon previously acknowledged was false.
"Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday defended his decisions to fire or sideline nearly 30 generals and admirals over the past year with little explanation by falsely comparing his record to that of President Barack Obama.
“I would also note that under Barack Obama, 197 general officers were removed,” Mr. Hegseth said in testimony before the House Armed Services Committee. “So this is not something specific to this administration.”
The number Mr. Hegseth gave has no basis in fact. It originated with an unsigned 2018 editorial in Investor’s Business Daily, which cites the right-wing news site “Breitbart.com’s Facebook page” as its source.
Mr. Hegseth’s actions to fire senior military leaders are without precedent in recent decades and have come with little explanation."
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