President Obama Signs Executive Order to Appoint Rashad Hussain to Supreme Court-Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
President Obama has signed an executive order appointing Rashad Hussain, a so-called supporter of terrorism, to replace Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Truth:
A fake news website is behind reports that President Obama signed an executive order appointing a new U.S. Supreme Court justice to replace Antonin Scalia.
The website is designed to look like an ABC News website, which mislead many readers into believing that a story appearing under the headline, “Obama Signs Executive Order: Appoints Rashad Hussain As New Supreme Court Justice,” was true. The story begins:
WASHINGTON — Just two days after thefuneral for the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who died last week of a heart attack at the age of 79, President Obamasigned Executive Order 14651, which appoints Rashad Hussain as the new Supreme Court Justice to replace Scalia.
Rashad Hussain is a real attorney who previously served as deputy associate counsel to President Obama, the director for global engagement at the National Security Council and as a special assistant U.S. attorney. In February 2015, Rashad Hussain was appointed coordinator for strategic counterterrorism communications at the U.S. Special Envoy in February 2015.
False reports that President Obama had appointed Rashad Hussain to the Supreme Court came as GOP senators said they would not hold a confirmation hearing or consider any nominees put forth by Obama.
A quick check of the White House’s website reveals that President Obama did not issue an executive order to replace Scalia. Anytime you hear reports about a president issuing an executive order, check here to see if it’s included on the official list of executive orders.