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The Big Lies › 2017 › File PF-0103
Retracted

IJR suggests Obama leaned on the Hawaii travel-ban judge

In mid-March 2017 the conservative site IJR published a piece suggesting, without evidence, that Barack Obama's trip to Hawaii was tied to a federal judge there ruling against Trump's revised travel ban.

Screenshot of the original report as published
Screenshot of the report as published: washingtonpost.com (archived copy, Wayback Machine). Tap to open the source.
Who it helped: Republicans

The piece cast the court ruling against Trump's travel ban as the product of interference by Obama.

What was reported

In mid-March 2017 the conservative site IJR published a piece suggesting, without evidence, that Barack Obama's trip to Hawaii was tied to a federal judge there ruling against Trump's revised travel ban.

What actually happened

There was no evidence of any contact between Obama and the judge. IJR retracted the story and acknowledged it was wrong. Three staff members, including chief content officer Benny Johnson, were suspended, and writer Kyle Becker later resigned.

The proof

IJR's own retraction and suspension of the staff responsible, as reported by The Washington Post.

The receipt. Copy this and paste it anywhere:

IJR suggests Obama leaned on the Hawaii travel-ban judge — Retracted. IJR's own retraction and suspension of the staff responsible, as reported by The Washington Post. Full file: https://www.thepropagandafiles.com/case/ijr-obama-hawaii-travel-ban-judge/

Original reporting

Corrections, findings & records

Archived copies

Stories get edited after publication. These open the Internet Archive's earliest saved copy of each original.

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