Bernie Moreno Faces Additional Scrutiny After Independent Fact Check Finds His Attacks on Sherrod “False”

COLUMBUS, OH – Moreno is facing more scrutiny for lying about Sherrod’s record following a nonpartisan fact check from PolitiFact that rated Bernie Moreno’s “misleading” claims in ads attacking Sherrod as “false” earlier this week.

The ad is just the latest in the “pattern of misleading statements” and “dubious claims” Moreno is telling on the campaign trail – including lying about his phony rags-to-riches “only-in-America bootstraps story” and lying about selling Chinese-made cars that shipped Ohio jobs overseas.

Dayton Daily News: Fact checker: Senate candidate Moreno’s immigration ad false
Lynn Hulsey – September 5, 2024

• A new political advertisement from Bernie Moreno, the Republican running for U.S. Senate in Ohio, was declared “false” by the Poynter Institute’s nonpartisan PolitiFact this week.

• “The three votes Moreno’s campaign cited would not have provided any federal benefits to immigrants in the country illegally. The American Rescue Plan already barred them from receiving stimulus checks. Federal law already prohibited them from qualifying for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program and barred them from buying insurance through the federal exchange,” according to PolitiFact.

• “Moreno also misleads on Brown’s vote regarding Social Security. The vote would not have granted benefits to immigrants who are in the country illegally, but would have changed the allocation from immigrants who later received legal status,” PolitiFact said.

• Poynter Institute is a nonprofit that focuses on journalism ethics, media training and literacy and does political fact-checking.

• “Independent fact checkers verified that Bernie Moreno is lying about Sherrod’s record, just like he lied about his ‘rags-to-riches’ upbringing, about selling Chinese-made cars, and even about how many times he’s been sued for refusing to pay his employees,” Brown campaign spokesman Matt Keyes said on Wednesday.

TiffinOhio.Net: Independent fact checker calls Moreno’s claims on Brown “false” and “misleading”
Dave Miller – September 5, 2024

• A fact check from PolitiFact has rated several claims made by U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno as “false” and “misleading,” focusing on ads that accuse Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown of voting to provide federal benefits to immigrants in the U.S. without legal status.

• However, PolitiFact’s investigation into the claims shows they largely distort Brown’s voting record…

• Brown’s vote was against an amendment that had no substantive policy effect, and even a political science expert described the vote as symbolic.

• In this instance, the claims about Brown’s votes are inaccurate, as federal laws already prevent undocumented immigrants from receiving benefits like Social Security, Medicaid, or stimulus payments. Moreno’s portrayal of these votes distorts their actual impact and context.

• Ultimately, PolitiFact rated the claims as false, continuing a pattern of misleading statements from Moreno’s campaign as he seeks to unseat Brown in the upcoming Senate race.

PolitiFact: Bernie Moreno Misleads on Sherrod Brown Votes for Federal Aid for Migrants with Non-Legal Status
Seth Richardson – September 4, 2024

• Moreno’s claims are similar to past statements we’ve fact-checked and found misleading.

• The American Rescue Plan already excluded people in the country illegally from receiving stimulus checks by requiring Social Security numbers and excluding “any nonresident alien individual” from the program.

• Migrants in the country illegally do not qualify for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program and cannot purchase subsidized health insurance coverage through the government portal, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

• Brown campaign spokesperson Matt Keyes said Brown voted for a similar amendment from then-Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., the same day as the Sessions amendment reaffirming immigrants in the country illegally cannot receive federal benefits.

• Keyes added that Brown again voted June 26, 2013, on an amendment to an immigration bill that prevented immigrants in the country illegally from receiving Social Security for work done illegally.

• The three votes Moreno’s campaign cited would not have provided any federal benefits to immigrants in the country illegally. The American Rescue Plan already barred them from receiving stimulus checks. Federal law already prohibited them from qualifying for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program and barred them from buying insurance through the federal exchange.

• Moreno also misleads on Brown’s vote regarding Social Security. The vote would not have granted benefits to immigrants who are in the country illegally, but would have changed the allocation from immigrants who later received legal status.

• We rate the claim False.

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