Trending that caught Doug’s eye: Famous liars

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This article was published 14/02/2015 (4206 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Someone famously said the first casualty of war is the truth.

You won’t get much argument from disgraced NBC news anchor Brian Williams, suspended six months without pay this week for falsely claiming he came under fire in a U.S. military helicopter while covering the Iraq war in 2003.

The firestorm erupted Jan. 30 when the star newsman repeated an often-told anecdote about being on board a Chinook helicopter that was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade and forced to land during the 2003 Iraq invasion.

After being called out by veterans angered by Williams’ loose interpretation of the facts, it emerged he’d been on a completely different helicopter that was part of a different mission and about half an hour behind.

Williams has apologized, saying he misremembered the event, but his reputation has taken a beating. Fake news anchor Jon Stewart opened The Daily Show on Monday night by recapping the story and saying in a sad voice: “Bri… Why? Why, Bri? Why Bri lie?… Sigh.”

Stewart suggested Williams — whose sinking trustworthiness is now rated on par with the stars of the reality TV show Duck Dynasty — had simply confused his newsman role with his duties as a celebrity and frequent talk-show guest. It may be some small comfort to the once-revered anchor to learn there is no shortage of famous persons who have come under fire for parting ways with the truth, including our favorite five:

5) The famous fib: “I do not use crack cocaine.”

The fabulous fibber: Former Toronto mayor Rob Ford

The fibbing flap: There’s a famous joke that says you can tell a politician is lying if their lips are moving. For Canadians, the first name that comes to mind when you hear that quip is Rob Ford. Back in 2013, Ford’s out-of-control behaviour, and allegations he used illegal drugs, turned him into a global punchline. As Canadians, we tut-tutted over his antics, but found it hard to turn away from the circus. Shortly after Ford announced he was going to rehab in 2014, Michael Bolen of the Huffington Post blasted the mayor and his brother, Doug, accusing them in a blog of being addicted to lying. “They lied so much that they birthed an entire genre of journalism devoted to debunking their deceptions,” he wrote. When a video surfaced allegedly showing him smoking crack cocaine, Rob issued a famous denial on May 24, 2013: “I do not use crack cocaine, nor am I an addict of crack cocaine. As for a video, I cannot comment on a video that I have never seen or does not exist.” In November, he admitted: “Yes, I have smoked crack cocaine. But do I? Am I an addict? No. Have I tried it? Probably in one of my drunken stupors, probably approximately about a year ago.” Why did it take so long to admit it? “I wasn’t lying,” he told reporters. “You didn’t ask the correct questions.” He eventually conceded he lied because he was “embarrassed.” We hate to admit it, but we miss the daily train wreck. And that’s the truth.

4) The famous fib: “I did not have sex with that woman.”

The fabulous fibber: U.S. President Bill Clinton

The fibbing flap: Everyone of a certain age remembers this bit of history. On Jan. 26, 1998, a red-faced Bill Clinton stood at a microphone, wagged his finger and declared: “I want to say one thing to the American people… I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.” In hindsight we can say: Pants on fire much, Bill? It turns out the most notorious sex scandal in modern political history — one that almost cost the 42nd president his job — began shortly after Monica Lewinsky arrived at the White House as an unpaid intern. It ended after Lewinsky spilled the beans to friend and Pentagon employee Linda Tripp, who made tapes of the conversations she later released. In a stony-faced White House address on Aug. 17, 1998, the man infamously dubbed “Slick Willie” fessed up to the world: “Indeed I did have a relationship with Miss Lewinsky that was not appropriate. In fact, it was wrong… I misled people, including even my wife. I deeply regret that.” Ian Leslie, author of the book Born Liars, in a 2011 radio piece rated Clinton No. 8 among the world’s Top 10 Liars. “Perhaps more than anyone else, Clinton embodies the way in which lying comes bound up with our best characteristics as well as our worst,” Leslie said. “Contrary to stereotype, great liars tend to be highly intelligent, sociable, charming and empathetic.” Of course, some of us are just nice guys, too.

3) The famous fib: “I have never doped.”

The fabulous fibber: Cycling superstar Lance Armstrong

The fibbing flap: This one still stings. It’s painful to think that, when he wasn’t winning seven consecutive Tour de France titles between 1999 and 2005, or inspiring us with his courageous comeback from cancer, Lance Armstrong was lying through his teeth about the fact he cheated during most of his famed career and bullied people who dared to tell the truth about his deception. For more than a decade, he denied doping allegations. “I have never doped, and, unlike many of my accusers, I have competed as an endurance athlete for 25 years with no spike in performance, passed more than 500 drug tests and never failed one,” he boasted in July 2012. He sued London’s Sunday Times for libel when it suggested in an article there were grounds to suspect drug use — and won a settlement. In the end, his titles were stripped and his endorsements vanished when the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency exposed his cycling team’s doping program and portrayed Armstrong as its ringleader. It all ended in 2013 when he bared his soul to Oprah, admitting his mythic story was “one big lie.” Sniffed Lance: “I will spend the rest of my life trying to earn back trust and apologize to people.” It still feels like he’s trying to peddle something.

2) The famous fib: “I am not a crook.”

The fabulous fibber: Richard Nixon, 37th president of the United States

The fibbing flap: You knew the man nicknamed “Tricky Dick” had to be on this list somewhere. In 1972, with the Vietnam War in full swing, Nixon needed a little hands-on help to get re-elected. In the early hours of June 17, 1972, several burglars were arrested inside the office of the Democratic National Committee in the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. The burglars were linked to Nixon’s Committee to Re-Elect the President (CREEP) and were nabbed while trying to wiretap phones and steal secret documents. On Nov. 7, 1973, Nixon infamously denied any involvement in the Watergate scandal with this now legendary defence: “I am not a crook.” That denial is now considered one of the most iconic presidential moments in history. The thing is, Nixon kind of was a crook. It turned out tape recordings made by Nixon in the Oval Office showed he had lied and attempted to cover up activities that took place after the break-in. In August 1974, after his role in the conspiracy became known, and as impeachment proceedings began, Nixon resigned from office, the only U.S. president chased out amid a scandal that changed U.S. politics forever. In naming Nixon its biggest liar ever, the website Richest.com sniped: “Nixon’s lies left a deep scar on the American political scene. There was a great atmosphere of mistrust and cynicism… and Nixon has gone down in history as one of the biggest — largest-scale — liars history has ever seen.”

1) The famous fib: I’m a pilot, a doctor, a lawyer …

The fabulous fibber: Frank Abagnale

The fibbing flap: If the name seems vaguely familiar, it’s because Abagnale’s life story inspired the 2002 Hollywood biopic Catch Me if You Can, in which superstar Leonardo DiCaprio portrayed a man who is considered one of the greatest con-man of the 20th century — a liar whose wild ride in the 1960s ended with him being recruited by the U.S. government. According to his own website, between the ages of 16 and 21, Abagnale had posed as an airline pilot, an attorney, a college professor and a pediatrician, along with cashing $2.5 million in fraudulent cheques in every state and 26 foreign countries. It was easier to cash bad cheques by dazzling tellers with flashy personalities, so he morphed into a pilot by telling Pan American Airlines he’d lost his uniform, and HQ sent him to pick up a new one. He then forged his own pilot’s ID and FAA licence. This legendary liar was nabbed by French police when he was just 21, and spent time in the French, Swedish and U.S. prison systems. After five years, he was released on condition he help the federal government, without pay, by teaching them his fraudulent tricks. This charming rogue has worked as a consultant and lecturer for the FBI ever since. He is considered the leading authority on financial foul play.

One final truth: The important thing is, we can all learn a valuable lesson from these men and their decision to part company with the facts. You know we wouldn’t lie to you, otherwise they never would have awarded us five Pulitzer Prizes. No, make that six…

doug.speirs@freepress.mb.ca