Briefly, Romney in the UK mentions that he is looking forward to returning the bust of Churchill to the oval office. Someone from the WH, Plouffe says, "The story from several years ago that Obama returned the Churchill bust is a complete falsehood. Obama moved Churchill upstairs to the WH residence to make room for Lincoln, a true Obama hero, but we did not return a bust of Churchill to the British Embassy."
Krauthammer has to dig a bit but does get the British Embassy to confirm that the Oval Office bust of Churchill, loaned to the WH and worth several hundred thousand dollars now resides in the office of some senior British official in DC.
After the first lie becomes “inoperative” the WH changes the story to say that there is another Churchill bust (given to the US in the ‘60s) in the White House residence. The WH
“curator” removed the Oval Office bust routinely as Obama was coming into office. Obama had nothing to do with this.
This lie did not last long so the WH changed it to, “the Churchill bust was on loan while our copy of the bust was being repaired” and/or “the bust was just on loan to Pres. GW Bush and the British wanted it back.”
Later it comes out that the British specifically offered to continue the loan of this highly valuable and politically significant artwork to President Obama but that he specifically turned them down.
So, over three years after it was first reported, and after Romney makes a point of it in England, the WH resurrected this old, old story in order to completely deny that it happened. After a series of lies have failed, the WH is attacking the messenger, Krauthammer, for his antipathy and veiled racism.
Thank you for the concise breakdown of the story.