Fact-checking speeches at the party conventions

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani

Assertions made from behind the lecterns at national political conventions often don't get the scrutiny they deserve, because speakers appear in rapid succession, and some of them don't merit the sort of attention that candidates and elected officials do. Also, television reporters and anchors usually don't have the corrective facts handy.

However, The Washington Post's Fact Checker unit (Glenn Kessler and Michelle Ye Hee Lee) is performing this important duty at this year's conventions, and The Rural Blog will be providing excerpts from both gatherings. If you want to re-publish them, we encourage you to look at the Post's reports for full context and things you may want to add.

Last night two survivors of the attack on the Benghazi consulate "repeated claims that have been questioned by various investigative committees," the Post reports. "Despite repeated claims of a stand-down order, various investigations have found that at best it amounted to tactical disagreements."

One survivor said "Hillary Clinton failed to protect her people on the ground," and the mother of a killed State Department official said "I blame Hillary Clinton personally for the death of my son," but the Post notes, "The security decisions were made well below Clinton’s level and no evidence has emerged that Clinton was aware of the requests."

The mother also said Clinton "looked me squarely in the eye and said a video was responsible" for motivating the attack. She did not include Clinton in her initial version of the account, adding her later. "All but one of the family members interviewed by The Fact Checker disagreed with this account," the Post reports.

Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani claimed "Hillary Clinton is for open borders," but that's an exaggeration, the Post says: "Clinton has said she would expand Obama’s executive actions on immigration, and has advocated comprehensive immigration reform including a pathway to citizenship. But she also has supported enhanced border security."