Northwest Flight 253

McCain Again Cites Bogus Abdulmutallab 'One-Way' Ticket Meme (VIDEO)

Justin Elliott | February 4, 2010, 2:01PM

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)

A couple of weeks ago, Sen. John McCain got into a heated exchange with an Obama counterterrorism official who corrected the senator's false statement that the accused Christmas bomber traveled to Detroit on a one-way ticket.

Well apparently McCain, the third-ranking Republican on the Homeland Security Committee, didn't learn his lesson. Last night on Fox he once again claimed that the "fact" that Umar Abdulmutallab was traveling on a one-way ticket should have been a red flag.

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Northwest Flight 253

McCain Gets Schooled On Bogus Abdulmutallab 'One-Way Ticket' Meme (VIDEO)

Justin Elliott | January 20, 2010, 12:09PM

The one-way ticket meme lives!

Quizzing an administration official at the Homeland Security Committee Flight 253 hearing today, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) pointed to a missed red flag: the fact that accused Christmas bomber Umar Abdulmutallab bought a one-way ticket with cash to travel from Lagos, Nigeria, to Detroit.

The only problem with that, of course, is that it's simply not true. As TPMmuckraker has documented, Abdulmutallab flew to Detroit on a round-trip ticket purchased in Ghana, according to the Nigerian government.

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Northwest Flight 253

Obama Admin To Congress: It Was Not A One-Way Ticket

Justin Elliott | January 13, 2010, 8:53AM

President Barack Obama

Remember the bogus "one-way ticket" meme we told you about earlier this week? That's the false idea that's been ricocheting around the media that Umar Abdulmutallab bought a one-way fare to fly to Detroit on Christmas, supposedly another red flag missed by authorities.

Well the myth was repeated so many times, the Obama Administration had to go to Congress to disabuse members of the idea. The Los Angeles Times reports:

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Northwest Flight 253

The Bogus Flight 253 'One-Way Ticket' Meme: Anatomy Of A Myth

Justin Elliott | January 11, 2010, 8:36AM

Umar Abdulmutallab (Fmr. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, President Obama, and columnist Michael Gerson inset)

In a remarkable example of how bad information can travel far and wide, dozens of media outlets around the world have said Umar Abdulmutallab was traveling on a one-way ticket to Detroit when he allegedly tried to blow up Flight 253, even though that has never been substantiated and appears to be flat wrong.

Abdulmutallab's "one-way ticket" has been cited in recent days by the AP, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post, even though the Nigerian government said Dec. 28 that Abdulmutallab had a round-trip ticket, and provided details to back it up.

The "one-way ticket" meme was originally sourced to anonymous U.S. officials and has since been recited as an undisputed fact.

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Northwest Flight 253

Flight 253 Intel: What Did They Know And When Did They Know It?

Justin Elliott | January 7, 2010, 2:19PM

Later today President Obama is scheduled to talk about the latest details from the security review of the failed Flight 253 attack.

National Security Adviser James Jones is predicting that Americans will feel "a certain shock" by the results of the review.

But in the meantime, as Josh noted on the Editors Blog, we thought it would be worthwhile to compile what has been publicly reported about what U.S. government agencies knew about Abdulmutallab, including the supposed "warning signs" that were missed.

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