TIMELINE: How Cruz's Camp Spun A Ben Carson Hoax During The Iowa Caucuses

TPM ^ | February 3, 2016, 2:12 PM EST | Katherine Krueger

[Red Steel]

Dr. Ben Carson, once a presidential contender leading the GOP polls, found himself swatting away rumors that he planned to drop out of the race in the heat of the Iowa caucuses Monday night.

The rumor was sourced to a single CNN report about Carson's plans to travel home to Florida after the Iowa caucuses - rather than directly to New Hampshire, as is typical - and was spread by Sen. Ted Cruz's (R-TX) campaign. It sparked a full-blown scandal as Carson claimed the Cruz camp's tactics hurt his performance in the caucuses and second-place finisher Donald Trump took up Carson's cause, calling for the election results to thrown out completely over Cruz's "fraud."

Here's a look at how the events unfolded on the night of the Iowa caucuses and the ensuing days (all times EST).

Caucus night

7:45 p.m.: CNN reports Carson is taking a break after Iowa

During CNN's wall-to-wall coverage of the Iowa caucuses, Dana Bash shared breaking news from reporter Chris Moody that Carson would return home to Florida after the contest.

“Ben Carson is going to go back to Florida, to his home, regardless of how he does tonight here in Iowa. He's going to go there for several days, and then afterwards, he's not going to go to South Carolina, he's not going to go to New Hampshire, he's going to come to Washington D.C., and he's going to do that because the National Prayer Breakfast is on Thursday," she said.

After the #IAcaucus, @RealBenCarson plans to take a break from campaigning https://t.co/2sMsS7rlRk https://t.co/dVGpik7gNN

- CNN (@CNN) February 2, 2016

CNN's Jake Tapper called the announcement from Carson "very unusual" and noted "almost every single candidate" would travel directly to New Hampshire after the caucuses.

"If you want to be President of the United States, you don't go home to Florida," Bash responded.

On Twitter, @TheLeadCNN told its 32,000 followers that Carson "will return to FL following #IAcaucus, will not go to either NH or SC." The account for CNN's politics section tweeted to 420,000 followers that the retired neurosurgeon "plans to take a break from campaigning."

7:50 p.m.: Carson camp clarifies he just has to go home for "fresh clothes"

Shortly before 8 p.m., a Carson spokesman tweeted the candidate was "not standing down" and was simply returning to Florida to "get fresh clothes" and dodge a winter storm in Iowa. The spokesman told TPM Carson would be in D.C. Wednesday and Thursday for a "campaign event," and then would continue on to New Hampshire.

The campaign also disputed rumors that Carson's trip to Florida was a mid-campaign vacation, which many read as a sign he would drop out.

8 p.m.: Cruz camp notifies supporters that Carson is dropping out

Just as the Iowa caucuses were beginning, some users of the Cruz campaign's official mobile app received a notification saying Carson was dropping out of the presidential race. The notification cited a report from CNN.

The alert said Carson "will stop campaigning after Iowa" and urged users to tell people at the caucuses “they should coalesce around the true conservative who will be in the race for the long haul: TED CRUZ!"

It also included a photo of a TV tuned to CNN, showing the network's ever-present "BREAKING NEWS" banner paired with the headline "Campaign: Carson To Take A Break After Iowa."

8:20 p.m.: Rep. Steve King feeds the rumor mill

Following the Cruz campaign's lead, Rep. Steve King (R-IA), who endorsed Cruz in November, tweeted: "Carson looks like he is out."

Carson looks like he is out. Iowans need to know before they vote. Most will go to Cruz, I hope. https://t.co/lW5Js50EMA

- Steve King (@SteveKingIA) February 2, 2016

He linked to a tweet from CNN reporter Chris Moody, which read Carson "won’t go to NH/SC, but instead will head home to Florida for some R&R. He'll be in DC Thursday for the National Prayer Breakfast."

10:50 p.m.: Carson alludes to unnamed rivals' "dirty tricks" after fourth-place finish

In his Iowa concession speech, which the retired neurosurgeon began before the race was called for Cruz, Carson reiterated that he wasn't "going anywhere." He also bemoaned "dirty tricks" employed in the caucuses, without assigning blame to any other campaign in particular.

The aftermath

Feb. 2: Cruz apologizes after Carson directly accuses him of playing "dirty tricks"

Carson fingered the Cruz campaign as the source of the rumors he was dropping out and said its shady tactics ruined his chances in Iowa during an interview with "Fox and Friends."

"At many of the precincts, the information was disseminated that I was suspending my campaign, that I had dropped out," he said. "And anybody who was planning to vote for me was wasting their vote and therefore they should reconsider."

Carson told Fox News that his wife, Candy, had to set the record straight at one precinct.

"She spoke at one of the caucus sites and before she got there one of the Cruz people had again disseminated that information to the crowd," Carson said. "One of the organizers told her 'I'm so glad you're here, so you could set the record straight.' And she did and we actually won in that precinct."

The Cruz campaign apologized for disseminating the misinformation later in the day, calling the messaging “a mistake from our end.” The campaign conceded in a statement to CNN that it should have followed up with a corrected report about Carson was staying in the race, but argued it was "fair game" for surrogates to disseminate the news that Carson was leaving the campaign trail when it first broke.

For his part, Cruz surrogate Steve King apologized to the Carson campaign for "any miscommunications" during the caucuses.

I respect Ben Carson & regret any miscommunications. Perhaps @RealBenCarson supporters r unaware of this CNN story. https://t.co/RgrljodXl1

- Steve King (@SteveKingIA) February 2, 2016

Feb. 3: Trump accuses Cruz of "fraud," calls for Iowa results to be "nullified"

In a string of tweets posted Wednesday morning, Donald Trump said the Iowa caucus results should be nullified or a new election should be held because of Cruz's alleged "fraud." In one quickly deleted tweet, he said Cruz "illegally stole" his win in Iowa.

The real estate mogul claimed "many people" voted for Cruz instead of Carson because of the campaign's alert that Carson was dropping out. He also criticized the Cruz campaign's "voter violation" mailers, which implied Iowa voters had broken the law.

[dynoman]

It wasn’t about the question.

“Establish your own consistent foundation first, and thereby reflect a stable position to critique another on those same grounds.”

Do that.

[MD Expat in PA]

if you were disgusted with Trump's actions re Carson you should be disgusted with Team Ted's lies and gutter politics in Iowa towards Carson.

Are you??

Were you disgusted when Trump compared Carson to a pathological pedophile and suggested that the only cure for people like Carson was the death penalty or castration?

Were you disgusted when Trump said Carson was "perhaps" a doctor and just an "OK" doctor?

Are you??

(Hint: This is a direct "yes" or "no" question)

[dynoman]

Are you disgusted with the crap Team Cruz pulled on caucus night?? Or is that what a “principled” politician looks like to you?

If you won’t answer neither will I.

[DoughtyOne]

Thank you CPT. Saw your note.

[Colofornian]

Were you disgusted when Trump compared Carson to a pathological pedophile and suggested that the only cure for people like Carson was the death penalty or castration? Were you disgusted when Trump said Carson was "perhaps" a doctor and just an "OK" doctor? Are you?? (Hint: This is a direct "yes" or "no" question)

Yes.

(Hey, that was easy!)

[LearnsFromMistakes]

Clever...I see what you did there...comparing a guy who won a vote...to a guy that incessantly whined about losing a vote...tantrums...court cases...mainly media challenges...

Wait. Cruz won. And another guy, not the guy offended, but another guy, is incessantly complaining about it not being fair.

OK, I guess I don’t get what you did there...Probably clever, just over my head...yeah, that is it...

[DoughtyOne]

It seemed to me that a man and his followers were very cantankerous after the win.

[Liz]

I can/t believe I/m actually rooting for Karl Rove/s explanation....

Rove, not a Trump fan by any means, explained how the Cruz cheating could have cost Donald the election.

The Cruz Campaign tweeted: Press says Carson is going to take a break...... so tell all the Carson people to campaign with Cruz.

But Rove explains that at 7:53 the Carson people send out a release saying, We/re here. We/re staying in the race. We/re going to New Hampshire and South Carolina.

And at 8:20 Cruz campaign chief Steve King tweets deceptively: It looks like Carson is getting out of the race...... knowing full well this was inaccurate.

Cruz lies.....said we sent it to our team, insinuating this had to do with sending it out to staff members.

No, no, no...says Rove. They sent this to nearly 1,500 Cruz precinct captains.

Now why does that matter......the gap between Trump and Cruz is 6,239 votes. There are 1,500 precincts. Do the math... If that message cost Carson four votes per precinct to switch to Cruz, then Cruz beats Trump. If opportunistic Cruz hadn/t switched those four, he/d be the loser.

The evidence is all there.....Cruz was caught w/ his pants down.

[Jane Long]

Agree. Great summary of the smarmy tacky Ted tactics.

[Liz]

Spread that far and wide.

[Jane Long]

I’m in TX....and, I will ;-)

[miserare]

Tricky Ted pulls another fast one.

How Nixonesque!

[HarleyLady27]

Ditto...I agree with what you said....

[MD Expat in PA]

Are you disgusted with the crap Team Cruz pulled on caucus night?? Or is that what a "principled" politician looks like to you? If you won't answer neither will I.

In regard to the Cruz campaign emails and tweets?

Carson's campaign cited an email Cruz's campaign sent to their supporters that read, "The press is reporting that Dr. Ben Carson is taking time off from the campaign trail after Iowa and making a big announcement next week. Please inform any Carson caucus goers of this news and urge them to caucus for Ted Cruz."

However, that information originally came from CNN and I think MSNBC who also speculated that Carson's own announcement that he was leaving Iowa (even before the voting was over) and heading back to Florida for a "Change of Clothes" and some R&R might be an indication that he was dropping out and also CNN's Chris Moody's tweets.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/02/02/20/30D1CF3F00000578-3427846-This_tweet_from_a_CNN_reporter_sent_at_6_43_pm_Iowa_time_set_off-a-32_1454443729740.jpg

Saying that Carson was taking time off the campaign trail after Iowa was not at all untruthful as it was and is the truth. If Cruz's campaign had announced the same thing, I'm sure Trump would have been all over Twitter announcing that Cruz was dropping out (and probably calling him a big LOSER!). That's politics. It is a rough sport.

In all honesty Steve King's tweets saying that Carson was dropping out was a stretch and IMO, bad judgement on his part.

However, if one looks at Ben Carson's own website under Events, note that there are only 3 events listed, and all three very small events and all in CA, all small "grassroots organizational meetings." and nary even one event listed for NH or SC. That doesn't look like someone in the race. I predict that Carson will drop out in the next two weeks, and not because of "dirty tricks" but because Carson has run a poor campaign and is bleeding cash and campaign staffers. Take that for what it is worth.

Now the ball is in your court.

Were you disgusted when Trump compared Carson to a pathological pedophile and suggested that the only cure for people like Carson was the death penalty or castration?

Were you disgusted when Trump said Carson was "perhaps" a doctor and just an "OK" doctor?

[dynoman]

No, it's not in my court. It's not a bout me at all. What about this, it was out on caucus night. Confirmed by Carson's wife and Carson, made up by the Cruz campaign;

[MD Expat in PA]

No, it's not in my court. It's not a bout me at all.

So you are OK with what Trump said about Carson, the outright lies and deeply personal insults that Trump hurled against Carson? I get it.

FWIW, I predict Carson will drop out in the next week or two and having nothing to do with being "cheated" in Iowa. And that Team Cruz will be vindicated for suggesting Carson's supporters might want to think about shifting their support to Cruz.

Where are the Carson supporters going to go since Huckabee and Santorum dropped out? To Trump? The man who compared Carson to a pedophile and suggested he should be executed or castrated and quite ironically called Carson a "phony Christian" and just an OK doctor? .

[dynoman]

Like I said to Colofornian - when you show any amount of disgust for what Ted did in Iowa with the shame letters and with what he did on caucus night we can talk.

Until then - shut up. Team Ted made up a lie and used it on caucus night.

[UCANSEE2]

You have tried to 'twist' the premise to support an incorrect conclusion.

In your lovely world view, people who steal / cheat aren't responsible for their actions.

I didn't say that. The thieves should be caught and jailed.

It's the dummy who forgets to lock the door and lets them get in.

This wasn't about 'forgetting'. My premise was that this person MADE AN ANNOUNCEMENT, and that the 'dummy' (as you call him) in your lovely world view, avoids taking responsibility for making that announcement.

You really need to work on your debating and logic skills.

[UCANSEE2]

Maybe I should give you a better analogy, or easier analogy to follow.

Let’s say your rich uncle gives you the keys to his Cadillac. You drive it down to Martin Luther King Boulevard and pull over to the curb. You leave the keys in it, and the door open, and walk back home. It gets stolen.

Who do you think your uncle is going to blame ?

[MD Expat in PA]

Like I said to Colofornian - when you show any amount of disgust for what Ted did in Iowa with the shame letters and with what he did on caucus night we can talk. Until then - shut up. Team Ted made up a lie and used it on caucus night.

I addressed what happened caucus night with respect to the Cruz campaign repeating what had been reported and speculated by several news outlets; that Carson was taking a break from the campaign. Was that untrue?

I also said: "In all honesty Steve King's tweets saying that Carson was dropping out was a stretch and IMO, bad judgement on his part."

Go to Carson's website. While Carson says he's not dropping out, why are there no campaign appearances in NH or SC listed? Does that not indicate that he's effectively suspended his campaign?

https://www.bencarson.com/events

Also Carson's campaign is in serious trouble and has been well before the Iowa caucus voting began.

Ben Carson slashes staff as funds dry up

As for the "shaming letters", I had posted on another thread that I don't like that tactic. However, there is nothing new about them. Both Democratic and Republican candidates and liberal and conservative groups have been using them for years. I do find them creepy and wish the Cruz campaign hadn't used them but there is nothing "illegal" about them and they are used to good effect to get the registered voters who are likely to vote for you, but who have not voted in several past election cycles, out to vote.

As for the pictures you keep posting, tweets from two people I've never heard of BTW (and I really like the guy who said he heard it from his mother); I've also heard that in many caucuses, there were no Carson speakers and that many caucus participants were unaware of the tweets and email until after the voting was over. I doubt it had much effect one way or another as Carson was poling anywhere from 9% to 10% and ended up with 9.3%.

I will not be bullied into shutting up. I addressed what you asked me to address and now that I have, I ask you once again; were you disgusted when Trump compared Carson to a pathological pedophile and suggested that the only cure for people like Carson was the death penalty or castration? Were you disgusted when Trump said Carson was "perhaps" a doctor and just an "OK" doctor? among other insults Trump hurled at Carson?