http://mediamatters.org/items/200710060005?f=h_topFACTS vs. FICTION
FICTION: Limbaugh's comments referred to only one soldier
FACT: During his September 28 broadcast, responding to criticism of his comments, Limbaugh claimed that rather than speaking generally of soldiers who support withdrawal from Iraq, he was "talking about one soldier with that 'phony soldier' comment." Later in the program, he asserted, "
verybody involved in this knows full well I was talking about one genuine, convicted, lying, fake soldier," referring to Jesse MacBeth, who pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for pretending to be an injured Iraq war veteran. But as the September 26 transcript makes clear, Limbaugh actually referred to "phony soldiers," plural. Responding to the caller's statement that supporters of withdrawal "like to pull these soldiers that come up out of the blue and talk to the media," Limbaugh responded, "The phony soldiers" .
FICTION: Limbaugh's comments occurred during a discussion about Jesse MacBeth
FACT: On the October 2 edition of Fox News' America's Newsroom, while purporting to give viewers "some background" on Limbaugh's comments, co-anchor Megyn Kelly reported: "Rush originally used this term 'phony soldiers' when he was talking about a guy named Jesse MacBeth. ... Limbaugh was making the point that this guy was basically a 'phony soldier,' and he was trying to say that sometimes people on the left use 'phony soldiers' like this to make their points." But contrary to Kelly's assertion that "Rush originally used this term 'phony soldiers' when he was talking about" MacBeth, Limbaugh did not mention MacBeth on the September 26 broadcast of his radio show until 1 minute and 50 seconds after he used the phrase "phony soldiers." After Limbaugh used the phrase, the caller he was speaking with went on to discuss the purported presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, with Limbaugh responding. Limbaugh then thanked the caller for calling, and the caller is not heard again on the broadcast. Only after this did Limbaugh bring up MacBeth on his September 26 show.
FICTION: Limbaugh's comments referred to a group of actual military imposters
FACT: During his September 28 broadcast, following his repeated assertions that he had been referring to "one soldier," a caller asked, "But you did say 'soldiers' in plural, though, didn't you?" Limbaugh replied: "Yes, because there have been a number of these people, but they were not active duty -- I was not talking about anti-war, active duty troops. I was talking about people who've been exposed as frauds who never served in Iraq but claimed to have seen all these atrocities, ." Limbaugh repeated this explanation during his October 2 broadcast, describing MacBeth as "the man I was referring to and others like him as 'phony soldiers.' " However, this explanation is inconsistent with his statements earlier in his September 28 program -- noted above -- that he had been talking about "one soldier." Indeed, the transcript (subscription required) of the September 28 broadcast that is posted on Limbaugh's website shows him asserting: "I was talking about one soldier with that phony soldier comment, Jesse MacBeth ."
FICTION: Limbaugh played the "entire" segment to explain his remarks