Fox News' Garrett distorted Obama's debate comments on Wright, falsely claiming they contradicted his March speech

Summary: Fox News' Major Garrett falsely claimed that Sen. Barack Obama's comments about Rev. Jeremiah Wright made during the April 16 Democratic presidential debate were "in conflict with his speech on that very subject." But in purporting to contrast Obama's reference during the debate to "comments not made by me but somebody who is associated with me that I have disowned" with Obama's assertion during his March 18 speech that "I can no more disown [Wright] than I can disown the black community," Garrett left out the next two sentences said in the debate exchange during which Obama made clear that he was not claiming to have "disowned" Wright, but to have disowned "[t]he comments" Wright made.

On the April 17 edition of Fox News' Special Report, correspondent Major Garrett falsely claimed that during the previous evening's Democratic presidential debate, Sen. Barack Obama "gave yet another explanation" on Rev. Jeremiah Wright, former pastor of Obama's church, "one in conflict with his speech on that very subject." Garrett then aired a clip from the debate in which Obama said of the controversy surrounding Wright: "[T]he notion that somehow that the American people are going to be distracted once again by comments not made by me but somebody who is associated with me that I have disowned, I think doesn't give the American people enough credit." Garrett then purported to contrast that statement with Obama's assertion during his March 18 speech that "I can no more disown [Wright] than I can disown the black community." But Garrett left out the next two sentences said in the debate exchange, during which Obama made clear that he was not claiming to have "disowned" Wright, but to have disowned "[t]he comments." Immediately following the clip aired by Garrett, debate moderator George Stephanopoulos asked Obama, "You've disowned him?" to which Obama responded: "The comments, comments that I've disowned."

From the April 17 edition of Fox News' Special Report with Brit Hume:

GARRETT: On the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Obama gave yet another explanation, one in conflict with his speech on that very subject.

OBAMA [video clip]: Yeah, the notion that somehow that the American people are going to be distracted once again by comments not made by me but somebody who is associated with me that I have disowned, I think doesn't give the American people enough credit.

GARRETT: Here's what Obama said about disowning Wright before.

OBAMA [video clip]: I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community.

From ABC News' April 16 Democratic presidential debate:

OBAMA: And, you know, the notion that somehow that the American people are going to be distracted once again by comments not made by me but somebody who is associated with me that I have disowned, I think doesn't give the American people enough credit.

STEPHANOPOULOS: You've disowned him?

OBAMA: The comments, comments that I've disowned. Then that is not something that I think --

STEPHANOPOULOS: But you do believe he's as patriotic as you are?

OBAMA: This is somebody who's a former Marine. And so, I have --I believe that he loves this country. But I also believe that he's somebody who, because of the experiences he's had over the course of a lifetime, is also angry about the injustices that he's seen.

—K.H.