The many falsehoods of Tony Snow

Summary: Media Matters for America presents a compilation of false and misleading claims advanced by Tony Snow -- a Fox News Radio host, Fox News guest host and commentator, and former speechwriter to President George H.W. Bush -- who is reportedly being considered by the White House to replace outgoing press secretary Scott McClellan.

The White House is reportedly considering Fox News' Tony Snow to replace outgoing White House press secretary Scott McClellan. White House officials recently spoke with Snow "to see if he would be interested in the job," according to The New York Times. Snow is the host of Fox News Radio's The Tony Snow Show, a regular commentator and guest host on Fox News, and a former speechwriter to President George H.W. Bush.

From his statement that evolutionary theory is a "hypothesis" to his defense of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, Media Matters for America has documented numerous false and misleading claims advanced by Snow as a Fox News commentator:

• Snow falsely asserted that former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV said his wife, Valerie Plame, "wasn't covert for six years" before she was exposed as a CIA operative by syndicated columnist Robert Novak.

• Snow put forward numerous falsehoods to argue that "[e]volutionary theory, like ID [intelligent design], isn't verifiable or testable. It's pure hypothesis."

• Snow claimed that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the "most liberal justice in American history," despite evidence to the contrary.

• Snow peddled the baseless Republican National Committee talking point that 2004 presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) had blamed U.S. troops for the explosives looted from the Al Qaqaa military installation following the invasion of Iraq. Snow said, "[T]he Kerry campaign is not criticizing the president here. They're criticizing our troops."

• Following President Bush's lead, Snow distorted Kerry's stated desire to reduce terrorism to a "horrible nuisance." Snow claimed Kerry had "called terrorists a nuisance."

• Snow backed Swift Boat Veterans for Truth's attacks on Kerry, falsely claiming, "[T]here has been no documentary contradiction of the Swift Boat stuff."

• Snow falsely defended Bush from probing questions regarding his National Guard service.

—J.K.