'Not true': Republican continues to push false claim despite being fact-checked on live TV

During a heated exchange on CNN’s State of the Union Sunday, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R‑OK) pushed a false claim that the Obama administration was responsible for a “sweetheart” plea deal with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein in 2009.

Mullin insisted, “there was a plea deal that was struck in 2009, … way before [President Donald] Trump was even considering to be in office … 2009, there was a sweetheart plea deal that was made underneath the Obama administration with Epstein,” and added, “And that sweetheart has not been exposed.”

Host Jake Tapper immediately corrected him: “It was 2008,” noting that “The U.S. attorney at the time was a guy named Alex Acosta. He was a Bush appointee. He went on to become President Trump’s secretary of labor. It all took place in 2008.” Acosta, then U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, negotiated the plea deal under the Bush‑era Justice Department in 2008 —well before Barack Obama took office.

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Despite Tapper’s fact‑based correction, Mullin doubled down: “Who was in office at the time?” he asked. Tapper answered again: “George W. Bush.” Undeterred, Mullin countered: “No, 2009 is when the case came out … And Obama was in office at the time.” Tapper simply responded: “It’s not true.”

Tapper attempted to continue the conversation, but Mullin reverted to his prior assertion, repeating, “The case was sealed in 2009 … It was heard in 2008. It was sealed 2009.” In reality, the plea deal was publicly disclosed — unsealed — in 2009, revealing the terms of a lenient agreement made in 2008.

Before wrapping the segment, Tapper reiterated the timeline: “The point is that the sweetheart deal, which was completed in 2008, was under the Bush administration — U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta.”

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