Mon, Oct 25, 2004 5:26pm ET

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O'Reilly falsely claimed Bush didn't oppose 9-11 Commission

On his October 21 radio show, FOX News Channel host Bill O'Reilly defended President George W. Bush from a recent Kerry-Edwards '04 TV ad highlighting Bush's opposition to creation of the 9-11 Commission by denying that Bush had ever opposed the commission.

From the October 21 broadcast of the nationally syndicated The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly:

O'REILLY: "They said they [9-11 widow Kristen Breitweiser, featured in the ad, and her late husband] voted for Bush [in 2000], but Bush opposed the 9-11 Commission -- which he didn't, by the way. He didn't oppose it. I mean, he had questions about it because he didn't want it politicized."

In fact, Bush did oppose the creation of the 9-11 Commission. According to CBS News, the reason Bush opposed the establishment of an independent commission was that "the investigation should be confined to Congress because it deals with sensitive information that could reveal sources and methods of intelligence. Therefore, he said, the congressional investigation is 'the best place' to probe the events leading up to the terrorist attacks."

After the commission's creation, Bush also opposed granting the additional time that commissioners requested to complete their investigation.

—G.W.

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