Let's Put The Ben Carson "Lie" On West Point Into Perspective

Ben Carson is now being accused of lying about an opportunity he says he turned down in high school to attend West Point. Politico, which is renowned for fabricating stories about politicians they don't like, claims Carson when confronted by the online political website admitted that he fabricated a story he has often told about being offered the opportunity to attend the esteemed military academy, but that he turned down the offer. Indeed, there are no records of Carson ever applying or being offered a slot at the academy as Politico learned. Carson vehemently denies he admitted to Politico that he fabricated the story. Here's a statement Carson's campaign released to the Daily Caller:

“Dr Carson was the top ROTC student in the City of Detroit. In that role he was invited to meet General Westmoreland. He believes it was at a banquet. He can’t remember with specificity their brief conversation but it centered around Dr. Carson’s performance as ROTC City Executive Officer.

He was introduced to folks from West Point by his ROTC Supervisors. They told him they could help him get an appointment based on his grades and performance in ROTC. He considered it but in the end did not seek admission. There are “Service Connected” nominations for stellar High School ROTC appointments. Again he was the top ROTC student in Detroit. I would argue strongly that an Appointment is indeed an amazing full scholarship. Having ran several Congressional Offices I am very familiar with the Nomination process.

Again though his Senior Commander was in touch with West Point and told Dr. Carson he could get in, Dr Carson did not seek admission.

The Politico story is an outright Lie. Dr. Carson as the leading ROTC student in Detroit was told by his Commanders that he could get an Appointment to the Academy. He never said he was admitted or even applied.

The campaign never “admitted to anything”

This is what we have come to expect from Politico.” 

So it is true Carson never received a formal offer to attend West Point after applying for admission with the support of a congressional sponsor as is the normal procedure for getting into one of the three military academies. Carson insists he was approached about a "Service Connected" offer to the academy as a "stellar High School ROTC appointment," which is quite plausible.

I have a nephew who was admitted to the Naval Academy after going through the rigorous application process and having a congressional sponsor. I also have identical twin nephews who never applied for admission to any of the academies but who were approached by a recruiter for the Air Force Academy, which expressed interest in their admission based on their outstanding academic records and as a standout basketball players on their high school team. The Air Force Academy reached out to them; they never contacted them or expressed interest in the academy. They weren't interested in military service and did not act on the invitation extended to them.

It makes a lot of sense that the military academies would have been reaching out to standout minority candidates to recruit in the late 1960s as Carson says occurred with him. He never claimed he applied and then turned down a formal offer that was made to him. He certainly didn't lie about his military service as some candidates and elected officials have been caught doing, and it seems Politico is really stretching it to claim Carson lied about turning down an opportunity to attend West Point. It seems to me the media is playing "gotcha" now with Carson at every turn. They've played that game incessantly with Trump, and he's got the fortitude to successfully fight them back like a tough-nosed street fighter where most candidates are overwhelmed by the media onslaught.

UPDATE: Carson fought back in a press conference last night and called the media out for its continued refusal to this day to question why all of Barack Obama's record remain sealed as they demand answers from him on whether or not he received an offer to attend West Point.