Fact Check

Did George Soros Pay Three Democrats Millions to Vote for Government Shutdown?

Of the many causes behind the January 2018 U.S. federal government shutdown, bribes to senators from George Soros was not among them.

Published Jan. 22, 2018

 (Wikimedia Commons)
Image Via Wikimedia Commons
Claim:
Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros bribed three Democratic senators to vote for a shutdown of the U.S. federal government.

On 19 January 2018, the Ladies of Liberty web site published an article reporting that Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros had bribed three Democratic senators to vote against a budget deal that would prevent a shutdown of the U.S. federal government:

Democrat Senators Fred Marken, Louis Kearns and Gerald Harmon are all under investigation for taking bribes from a PAC fund tied to none other than George Soros. The PAC, DemWatch2020, is run by notorious liberal troublemaker Sandy Batt who has declined to comment.

Soros, who enjoys Hungarian citizenship, says he doesn’t care who knows that he buys Congressmen: “When Charles Koch does it, he’s a patriot. When I do it, I’m a criminal.”

The three senators could be guilty of taking dark money if it’s determined that Soros’ cash came from overseas. At any rate, the timing is criminal in and of itself. No elected official is supposed to take campaign contributions of any kind based on a single vote. It’s under those pretenses that the House Ethics Committee will investigate.

None of this was true. The senators named in the article do not exist, and this report originated solely with the Ladies of Liberty web site, a site that is a part of a network of fake news sites dedicated to spreading political misinformation under the guise of proffering "satire."

Sources

Eagleton, Loreli.   "George Soros Paid 3 Democrats Millions to Vote for Shutdown."     Ladies of Liberty.   19 January 2018.

David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994.