Jon Ossoff Gets Fact-Checked By The Washington Post

Start your week off with a look at The Washington Post’s fact-check on Jon Ossoff’s misleading claim about his national security experience.

The claim earned him a Pinocchio.

Here are some of the highlights from the fact-check:

• Would an ordinary viewer understand that Ossoff’s clearance was for less than half a year? Not very likely. Moreover, declaring himself a “senior national security staffer” is also bit too much résumé puffery.

• Does this experience mean he was a “senior national security staffer”? That is debatable. In Washingtonspeak, national security staffers tend to work on the National Security Council staff or in the Defense Department. Ossoff did not even work on the staff of a major committee, such as Armed Services or International Relations. Instead, he was an aide to a relatively low-ranking member of Congress.

• But Ossoff is pushing the envelope by referring to his “top-secret security clearance” in almost the same breath. He appears very careful to not connect the two elements in one sentence, but his statements and ads might leave an impression that the 30-year-old held a security clearance for longer than five months.