Today is the deadline for six world powers to reach a nuclear deal with Iran. Dozens of U.S. Senators stepped into the fray when they sent a signed letter to Iran’s leaders. In all, 47 Republican senators signed the letter, which claimed any deal signed by President Obama could be null and void with the next Commander in Chief.
Democrats criticized the letter, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell defended his colleagues. McConnell said it wasn’t the first time lawmakers sidestepped the executive office, claiming: "Secretary of State John Kerry, "when he was a senator, flew to Managua and met with a communist dictator there, Daniel Ortega, and accused the Reagan administration of engaging in terrorism."
PolitiFact examined the claim and rated it MOSTLY TRUE. According to reporter Joshua Gillin, all the facts are there.
“This refers to a 1985 trip that Kerry and Sen. Tom Harkin from Iowa took to Nicaragua to meet with Ortega and discuss things,” Gillin said. “At the time, the Reagan administration was helping fund the Contra rebels, who were against the Ortega regime.”
PolitiFact only found two minor inconsistencies. First, the way Sen. McConnell words the statement makes it sound like Sen. Kerry made the statements after flying to Nicaragua. Actually, the comments were made before Kerry left for the trip.
The second inconsistency is in how Sen. McConnell phrased the word “terrorism.” McConnell claims Kerry accused the Reagan administration of engaging in terrorism, when in fact, Kerry said that the Reagan administration was funding terrorism.
Because the trip did happen and the only inconsistencies are minor, PolitiFact rated the claim MOSTLY TRUE.
SOURCES: KERRY'S TRIP TO NICARAGUA
- PolitiFact's rating
- Mitch McConnell, comments on CNN’s State of the Union, March 15, 2015
- John Kerry, comments on CBS’s Face the Nation, March 15, 2015
- Associated Press, "Kerry, Harkin, to Nicaragua," April 16, 1985 (via Nexis)
- Washington Post, "Senate Approves, House Defeats 'Contra' Aid; Two Alternatives to President's Plan on Nicaragua Are Scheduled for Vote Today," April 24, 1985 (via Nexis)
- Philip A. Klein, "5 times Democrats undermined Republican presidents with foreign governments" (Washington Examiner column), March 10, 2015
- PolitiFact, "Limbaugh: Ted Kennedy undercut Reagan with back-door line to Soviets," March 13, 2015
- Email interview with Don Stewart, spokesman for Mitch McConnell, March 16, 2015