Clarification on earlier Sue Myrick post

Last Friday, I blogged about US House Representative Sue Myrick’s (R-NC – 9th District) comments at a press conference on promoting a crackdown on illegal immmigration here regarding the alleged Mexican border arrest of three suspected Al Qaeda members that she mentioned. I (along with several readers) had wondered why this hadn’t yet been mentioned in the mainstream press, but also said the following in my post:

Sue is not the type of politician who regularly makes things up out of whole cloth – so I have to believe she’s telling the truth here.

Tuns out that the statement was based on old information. ST reader Stoo (aka “Darling Stoo”) emailed Rep. Myrick’s office for clarification and rec’d this response Andy Polk, Rep. Myrick’s Communications Director:

During a question and answer session following the press conference, Rep. Myrick inadvertently stated that three Al Qaeda members had been detained at the Mexican border. Rep. Myrick’s statement was based several old reports from last year she had read in the past several weeks. Apparently, a staff member had given her old information dealing with border threats and she read the reports thinking that they were current. I discovered this after sorting through her piles of reading material. This was an honest mistake, and was not meant to alarm anyone. The US Border Control told me that they have not detained any possible Al Qaeda terrorists.

Again, this was an inadvertent misstatement. However, this does nothing to distract from the fact that illegal aliens are still illegally obtaining drivers licenses in North Carolina, which the press conference was all about.

Thanks to Stoo for his diligence in following up to get the more accurate story. And thanks to Rep. Myrick’s office for giving more than the canned responses MY embarassing Representative Mel Watt (D-NC-12th District) usually churns out with each email.

Reminder: Don’t forget you still have time to vote for yours truly in Aaron’s “Deck O’ Bloggers – Heart suit” competition. Click here, look to the left and scroll down a bit and you’ll see my name listed. I must finish in the top 11 to make the deck. You have until 11 AM EDT Tuesday to vote … the sooner the better, though ;) Thanks in advance!