WATCH: Video Surfaces Disproving Kelly’s Attack on 2015 Rep. Wilson Speech
A full video of Rep. Frederica Wilson’s speech at an FBI ceremony in 2015 has been re-published by the South Florida Sun Sentinel, and seems to contradict Chief of Staff John Kelly’s account of the speech.
In Kelly’s evocative comments to the White House press corps on Thursday, he defended Donald Trump against Wilson’s accusations that the president was insensitive in a call to a Gold Star widow.
After defending the president, Kelly attacked Wilson — recalling a speech the congresswoman gave in 2015 at the dedication ceremony of a new FBI building in Florida named for two slain FBI agents.
Kelly, then a general, alleged Wilson bragged about securing funds for a new FBI building in Florida during her speech — a comment that Kelly said left him “stunned” for its insensitivity.
But, it appears that Kelly’s forceful criticism of Wilson was unfounded: in the full video of Wilson’s 2015 speech, she makes no mention of securing funding for the building.
It would be quite a shocking indictment of Kelly if it turned out he lied before the press corps in order to tar the congresswoman, particularly given the powerful and emotional appeal to “sacredness” he made earlier in his comments.
You can watch the video over at the Sun Sentinel.
UPDATE 1:22 p.m. EST: As some very thorough online sleuths have pointed out, there is one part of Wilson’s speech that Kelly was likely referring to. Around halfway through her comments, Wilson explains how she worked to get the bill signed that would allow for the FBI building. She also praises Congress for its quick action in passing the bill.
However, she does not brag about securing funding for the building, as Kelly alleged.
[image via screengrab]
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