#Jim fink fact check license

We reached out to Madsen via his website to ask if he could provide any documentary evidence for these claims but did not receive a response. Madsen provided no hint as to the location or nature of these purported records. Gaetz’s politically powerful father Don ensured that none of the arrests led to prosecutions.” However, even a partial glance at Gaetz’s record reveals at least seven arrests for drunk driving and a reputed alternate gay life style. The earliest iteration of this claim appears to stem from an August 29, 2016, post written by conspiracy theorist Wayne Madsen, who stated: “Matt Gaetz, currently a member of the Florida House of Representatives, portrays himself to the Bible-thumping voters of the Panhandle as a God-fearing conservative.

Despite that, several memes and articles make the claim that Gaetz has had at least seven DUI arrests. In terms of what is accessible via public records, the 2008 arrest is Gaetz’s only recorded DUI. Gaetz, for his part, has dismissed such allegations as “tabloid journalism.” Seven DUIs The question of whether Gaetz’s father’s political connections played an improper role in these outcomes has dogged Gaetz for years. The arresting officer, Okaloosa County Deputy Chris Anglin, resigned a month after the Gaetz arrest under pressure from his superiors, who cited disciplinary issues.

Yet the refusal was clearly documented in affidavit and arrest report.” According to the Tampa Bay Times, “A field officer for the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles declared there was no evidence that Gaetz refused a breath test. This occurred despite a Florida law requiring a year-long suspension for refusing to take a breathalyzer test.

#Jim fink fact check license

He was arrested and refused the breath test.Ī controversy ensued when charges against Gaetz, whose father was a member of the Florida State Senate at the time, were dropped and his license was reinstated. Gaetz, who had recently begun practicing law, declined any field sobriety tests. Twice, Gaetz’s eyes didn’t follow the prompt. Minutes later, he admitted he had consumed two beers. Smelling alcohol, Anglin asked Gaetz if he had been drinking. Anglin later reported that Gaetz fumbled for his license and registration, his eyes were watery and bloodshot, and he swayed and staggered when he got out of the car. Near midnight, Okaloosa County Deputy Chris Anglin clocked Gaetz going 48 in a 35 mph zone. He drove a 2001 BMW SUV registered to his state senator dad. It was the night before Halloween in 2008 when Gaetz, then 26, drove back from the Swamp, a nightclub on Okaloosa Island. The fact blended into these memes’ fictions is that a mug shot stemming from Gaetz’s arrest for driving under the influence is real, as has been acknowledged by the congressman himself and was reported by the Tampa Bay Times in 2014: congressman Matt Gaetz’s mug shot from a 2008 DUI arrest: That appears to be the strategy employed in memes making use of U.S. Memes peddling false political claims often work best when they sprinkle a pinch of fact into their misinformation stew.