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Rand Paul-Endorsed GOP Senate Candidate Dabbled In 9/11 Trutherism

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Greg Brannon, a Republican U.S. Senate candidate in North Carolina, said in an interview nearly 2 years ago that conspiracy theories surrounding the 9/11 terror attacks should be investigated and he wouldn’t outright deny that he is a so-called “9/11 truther,” or one who questions the official government explanation of the attacks.

Brannon — who has been endorsed by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) — made the comments on a radio show back in 2012, according to Mother Jones, and at the time ran a local tea party group. During the program, a self-proclaimed 9/11 truther called in claiming that it’s not possible that an airplane hit the Pentagon on 9/11 and asked Brannon to weigh in on the matter.

“These questions, again, actually, that’s what [9/11 commission vice-chair] Lee Hamilton said. And he [the caller] just said, there’s other questions that need answering,” Brannon said in response. “The guy who got all the information…a Democrat and a Republican, were the co-chairmen of the 9/11 commission, and when they got done, they did not put their stamp of approval on the commission. They said, there’s data that we did not put in there. So things like this have to be asked.”

Mother Jones notes that the 9/11 Commission co-chairs’ complaints were about government agencies stonewalling on access to information and not about questions on whether the U.S. government was involved in the attack.

But later in the same program, a caller asked Brannon if he, himself, was a 9/11 Truther because his tea party website links to the conspiracy theory laden website Infowars, led by Alex Jones. “I just think it’s very important we study things thoroughly,” Brannon said.

Brannon — whose views on other issues are just as troubling — is battling Republican establishment candidate Thom Tillis for the chance to take on Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC) this fall. But dabbling in 9/11 trutherism isn’t the only questionable national security position for the tea party candidate. On his campaign website, Brannon, citing the founding fathers, says that international alliances, such as the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations, “undermine our country’s independence.”

“America can engage in free trade and develop beneficial relationships with other nations without funding or joining international organizations,” he says.

The post Rand Paul-Endorsed GOP Senate Candidate Dabbled In 9/11 Trutherism appeared first on ThinkProgress.


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