Mr. Trump said that Mr. Smollett, who made a questionable claim last year that he was assaulted in Chicago by Trump supporters in red “Make America Great Again” hats, “beat himself up.” (Mr. Smollett was charged with filing a false police report before the charges against him were dropped as past of a deal with prosecutors.) Mr. Trump drew an unlikely line between Mr. Smollett’s alleged hoax and the House Democratic inquiry now underway against him back in Washington. “It’s a scam, just like the impeachment of your president is a scam,” Mr. Trump said. Mr. Trump did not explain how exactly his predecessors had failed in their pursuit of Mr. al-Baghdadi. United States officials did not appreciate his import as an insurgent leader until 2009, early in the administration of President Barack Obama.

Source: International New York Times October 28, 2019 18:37 UTC