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MSNBC's Katy Tur Claims McCaskill Voted for Gorsuch (She Didn't)

October 11, 2018

MSNBC anchor Katy Tur incorrectly claimed on Thursday Sen. Claire McCaskill (D., Mo.) voted to confirm Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch.

"McCaskill voted for Gorsuch and did not vote for Kavanaugh," Tur said.

Only three Democratic senators voted for Gorsuch back in 2017. McCaskill wasn't one of them.

"While I have come to the conclusion that I can’t support Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court — and will vote no on the procedural vote and his confirmation — I remain very worried about our polarized politics and what the future will bring, since I’m certain we will have a Senate rule change that will usher in more extreme judges in the future," McCaskill wrote in her statement against Gorsuch.

Tur continued with McCaskill's statement on her voting no against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, whom President Donald Trump nominated to replace the retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy.

"Here is her statement. I've been thorough in examining Judge Kavanaugh's record. And while the recent allegations are troubling and deserve a thorough and fair examination by the Senate Judiciary Committee, my decision is not based on those allegation but rather on his positions on several key issues, most importantly the avalanche of dark, anonymous money that is questioning our democracy."

Senate Democrats attempted to block Kavanaugh's confirmation by using allegations of sexual misconduct lodged against him. The allegations went back to when he was in high school and college. Democrats focused their efforts on the allegations in an attempt to galvanize opposition and put pressure on Republicans such as Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Jeff Flake (Ariz.). Both Flake and Collins ended up voting for Kavanaugh; Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R., Alaska) was the only Republican senator who did not.

McCaskill said she felt "physically ill" when Kennedy announced his retirement in June.

It wasn't the first time Tur didn't have her facts straight on air. She argued Republicans were opposed to arming Ukraine against Russian-backed separatists, despite the Trump administration signing off on the largest U.S. sale of lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine since 2014. She also didn't know Obama made his infamous "flexibility" Russia comments in 2012.