Top U.S. Admiral Fired for Questioning Obama’s Purchase of Dubai Mansion-Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
U.S. Rear Adm. Richard Williams Jr. was fired because he questioned President Obama’s decision to buy a mansion in Dubai, according to reports.
The Truth:
Rear Adm. Richard Williams was fired for viewing pornography on his work computer, and President Obama isn’t purchasing a mansion in Dubai.
The rumor that Admiral Williams was fired for exposing Obama’s plans to buy a seaside mansion in Dubai were drummed up by a conspiracy theory website called What Does It Mean.
A story headlined, “Top U.S. Admiral Fired for Questioning Obama Purchase of Mansion in Dubai,” cited a report by Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) that Williams was fired after sending an “email/posting” that revealed Obama was in the middle of purchasing a mansion in Dubai:
A stunning new Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) report circulating in the Kremlin today states that one of the United States Navy’s top commanders was relieved of his command a few hours ago after he sent out an “email/posting” revealing that President Barack Obama was in the process of purchasing a multi-million dollar seaside luxury villa in the United Arab Emirates city (UAE) of Dubai.
According to this report, the Commander of the US Navy’s Carrier Strike Group 15, Rear Admiral Rick Williams, posted a “pointed” query on 8 January [since deleted] to the US Naval Institute’s “Readiness Kill Chain” “recipients/responders” list as to why Navy security and intelligence personal had been dispatched from Naval Support Facility Thurmont (aka Camp David) to Dubai on what he termed an “Obama house hunting mission”.
There’s no trace of the report by (SVR), including on the agency’s official website. Besides, SVR is known for spinning Russian propaganda, so even if such a report exists, it wouldn’t be a credible source.
The story also showed a fake photo of the mansion that Obama was in the middle of purchasing. The photo actually shows Bulgari Resort Villa in Dubai, a luxury hotel:
The false report took advantage of the non-specific language the Navy used when it announced that Rear Admiral Williams, who was assigned commander of Carrier Strike Group Fifteen in April 2015. Just six months later, the Navy announced that Williams had been relieved of duty due to “misuse of government computer equipment.” Days later, however, the Navy Times reported that Williams was fired for viewing pornography on his work computer:
During a routine inspection, Williams was found to have looked at pornographic images on his government computer, violating Navy rules, said a Navy source familiar with the incident. The misuse of the computer did not involve any classified material and the investigation is ongoing, the source added.
“They have enough information to say it wasn’t just a mistake,” the source said. “It was extensive enough that they knew it was not just an error.”
So, reports that Obama is buying a mansion in Dubai, and that Rear Admiral Williams was fired for exposing it, are false.