Rep. Wexler Confronts Condoleezza Rice on Bush Administration's 935 Iraq War Lies

Last month, the Center for Public Integrity and the Fund for Independence in Journalism released a study finding that the Bush administration made "at least 935 false statements" preceding the invasion of Iraq. Condoleezza Rice, who served as National Security Adviser at the time, made 56 false statements.

During a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing yesterday, Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL) pressed Rice to explain the inconsistencies, asking "isn't it true that you had intelligence that cast doubt on your repeated claims?" "No, it's not true," replied Rice tersely.

Wexler then pointed out that Rice was lying when she said it was "not true" and that there had been "intelligence that cast doubt" on the administration's pre-war claims:

WEXLER: I simply asked if you had intelligence that was contrary to the intelligence that you reported repeatedly to the American people...

RICE: Congressman, I would...

WEXLER: ... that Iraq did have weapons of mass destruction.

RICE: Congressman, I would suggest that you go back and read the key judgments of 2002. I think that will answer your question.

WEXLER: Yes. And the answer to the question, Madam Secretary, is that, in fact, there were contrary reports. You chose to weigh the reports.