Politifact Weighs In on the INTERPOL Nontroversy

Politifact gives Gingrich’s statement that Executive Order 12425 could, “lead to a number of investigations by Interpol in the United States, potentially aimed at American officials” a rating of “Pants on Fire”:

The key problem with this notion is that Interpol couldn’t investigate CIA or American officials, because Interpol doesn’t do investigations. Although Interpol is often portrayed in movies as an international police force, solving crimes and arresting bad guys, its actual purposes are modest: It helps police organizations in different countries communicate and coordinate actions, provides databases of crime information (fingerprints, stolen artwork, names of suspected terrorists), training and other support services. It doesn’t arrest anyone, and doesn’t even have its own officers. Instead, police forces from around the world loan their officers to the organization. …

That’s exactly what Gingrich’s claims are: conspiracy theories, based on wild conjecture, not reality. For fanning the flames of paranoia, Gringrich’s claims earn a Pants on Fire.