Blitzer let Fleischer falsely claim Obama has a "proposal to eliminate deductions" for charitable donations

Summary: CNN's Wolf Blitzer did not challenge Ari Fleischer's false claim that President Obama has a "proposal to eliminate deductions" for charitable donations and housing-related expenses. In fact, Obama's fiscal year 2010 budget proposal includes a provision to reduce to 28 percent the rate at which families earning more than $250,000 a year can take deductions for charitable donations, housing-related expenses, and other itemized deductions.

During the March 12 edition of CNN's The Situation Room, host Wolf Blitzer did not challenge former Bush White House press secretary Ari Fleischer's claim that President Obama "said no tax hikes for anybody who makes less than 250 [thousand dollars] a year, and then we learn that it's really 125,000 a year when you take a look at his proposal to eliminate deductions for charitable deductions and for housing deductions." In fact, Obama does not have a proposal to "eliminate deductions" for charitable donations and housing-related expenses. Rather, Obama's fiscal year 2010 budget proposal includes a provision to reduce to 28 percent the rate at which families earning more than $250,000 a year can take these and other itemized deductions.