Cummings and Pelosi Cite Fake Flynn Twitter Account
Came at press conference
Rep. Elijah E. Cummings and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi both cited a parody Twitter account claiming to be Michael Flynn.
The incident came in a Tuesday news conference after the resignation of National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. Both Cummings quoted tweets from a fake account under the handle @GenMikeFlynn.
Cummings informed Pelosi of the purported quote from the fake account.
“Madam Leader, just this morning Flynn tweeted, quote, ‘Scapegoat,’ end of quote. Scapegoat,” Cummings said. “He basically describes himself as scapegoat.”
Pelosi had said she did not know that Flynn had said those words.
“Do you know what a scapegoat is?” Pelosi asked. “In a community where people want to absolve themselves of guilt, they get a goat, and they heap all of the ills on to the goat, and then they run the goat out of town. So the inference to be drawn from his statement is that other people have blame that should be shared in all of this.”
The problem is that the account’s bio labels it as a parody.
While I accept full responsibility for my actions, I feel it is unfair that I have been made the sole scapegoat for what happened. (1/2)
— Michael Flynn (@GenMikeFlynn) February 14, 2017
But if a scapegoat is what’s needed for this Administration to continue to take this great nation forward, I am proud to do my duty.
— Michael Flynn (@GenMikeFlynn) February 14, 2017
Cummings and Pelosi weren’t alone in falling for the parody account — the New York Times earlier cited the “scapegoat” tweet and later removed it and issued a correction, Mediaite reported.
Cummings later apologized through the House Oversight Committee Democrats’ Twitter account.
Yes, sorry, to correct the record – just learned like many others that the Flynn tweet this morning was fake. https://t.co/In9XO3r55h
— House OversightDems (@OversightDems) February 14, 2017
Flynn had previously been prolific on Twitter, peddling anti-Muslim remarks, according to a report from CNN.