MSNBC's Brewer and PolitiFact's Adair did not note that McCain falsely claimed Palin “sold” jet on eBay and “made a profit”

Written by Meredith Adams

Published

On MSNBC, PolitiFact.com's Bill Adair said that Gov. Sarah Palin's claim to have put a jet airplane owned by the state of Alaska on the Internet auction site eBay was true and noted that "[t]he state was unsuccessful selling it on eBay, and they had to hire an aircraft broker to sell it, ended up selling it for considerably less than the state had paid for it." However, neither Adair nor Contessa Brewer noted that Sen. John McCain falsely claimed that Palin “took the luxury jet that was acquired by her predecessor and sold it on eBay. And made a profit.”

During an interview with anchor Contessa Brewer on the September 9 edition of MSNBC Live, PolitiFact.com's Bill Adair said that Gov. Sarah Palin's claim to have put a jet airplane owned by the state of Alaska on the Internet auction site eBay was true. Adair also noted that "[t]he state was unsuccessful selling it on eBay, and they had to hire an aircraft broker to sell it, ended up selling it for considerably less than the state had paid for it." However, neither Adair nor Brewer noted that Sen. John McCain falsely claimed at a September 5 rally in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, that Palin “took the luxury jet that was acquired by her predecessor and sold it on eBay. And made a profit.”

According to an April 22, 2007, Anchorage Daily News article:

The state has tried selling its unwanted jet online four times and failed. So last week, the Palin administration signed a contract with an Anchorage aircraft broker who thinks he can succeed where eBay couldn't. “The eBay thing didn't work out very well,” said Dan Spencer, director of administrative services for the Department of Public Safety. He's the person charged with trying to get rid of the infamous Westwind II. The administration made a deal last week with Turbo North Aviation, promising the broker a 1.49 percent cut of the selling price.

McCain's falsehood was noted on September 5 by ABC News' Jake Tapper, the Politico's Ben Smith, and The Washington Post's Anne E. Kornblut.

From the 12 p.m. ET hour edition of the September 9 edition of MSNBC Live:

BREWER: And, finally, let's talk about Sarah Palin's jet plane. She talked about it at the convention, she's talked about it continuously on the stump. She says, “The governor doesn't need a private jet. I put it on eBay.” Let me play it.

PALIN [video clip]: The luxury jet, it came with the office. But I put it on eBay.

BREWER: Well, there it was. You heard me say it and you heard her say it too. Is that true?

ADAIR: It is true. We gave this one a true on our truth-o-meter. She did put it on eBay. It's important, though, to note -- and we've gotten a lot of e-mails about this from your viewers -- that she did indeed not sell it on eBay. The state was unsuccessful selling it on eBay, and they had to hire an aircraft broker to sell it, ended up selling it for considerably less than the state had paid for it. But what she said and the way she said it was true, so that one gets a true.

BREWER: Yeah. Putting it on eBay and selling it on eBay -- two different things, as anyone who's ever done eBay commerce knows. Bill Adair.

ADAIR: Exactly.

BREWER: Thank you very much.