1. @Microsoft has released new information in an attempt to justify its late-December donation to @HawleyMO

But does its story add up?

No.

And I have receipts.

Follow along if

@Microsoft @HawleyMO 2. @HawleyMO announced he would object to the Electoral College and attempt to overturn Biden's victory on 12/30

On 12/31 Hawley's joint fundraising committee reported a $2500 contribution from @Microsoft

But Microsoft claims this is a distortion

https://t.co/wvs0kg0CJW
3. @Microsoft says it APPROVED to donation to Hawley on 12/10 and mailed the check on 12/17

The implication is if it had known Hawley was contesting the legitimacy of the election it wouldn't have donated the money

But Microsoft's story doesn't hold up

https://t.co/wvs0kg0CJW
4. By the time Microsoft approved the donation on 12/20, Hawley had been contesting the legitimacy of the election and promoting Trump's lies about election fraud for WEEKS.

Let's review.

https://t.co/wvs0kg0CJW
5. In a NOV 5 interview on Tucker Carlson, Hawley promoted reports that illegitimate ballots were being dumped into polling places in Michigan and Pennsylvania.

https://t.co/wvs0kg0CJW
6. On November 7, after all media outlets projected Biden as the winner, Hawley tweeted that the election was still up in the air because of "allegations of fraud."

https://t.co/wvs0kg0CJW
7. On NOV 10, Hawley introduced a bill that experts said was "aimed at bolstering the president's unsubstantiated claims of fraud"

It would have required 24/7 video surveillance of drop boxes, among other things

https://t.co/wvs0kg0CJW
8. "Trump's fraud claims are false and toxic. Hawley must stop endorsing them," the St. Louis Dispatch wrote in an editorial on NOV 11.

I could go on and on. The point is, by the time @Microsoft approved the donations, Hawley's posture was well-known

https://t.co/wvs0kg0CJW
9. @Microsoft is trying to navigate a reputational crisis.

But spin that is inconsistent with the facts won't cut it.

For more accountability journalism, sign up for the newsletter.

https://t.co/TfpCItdVSo

More from Judd Legum

1. @NYGovCuomo became a pandemic star by contrasting himself with Trump

Cuomo crafted an IMAGE of being determined, honest and grounded in science

But 11 months later this image is falling apart

Follow along for a FACTUAL assessment of Cuomo's

2. Cuomo WROTE A BOOK, published in October, celebrating his own leadership during the pandemic.

Cuomo writes that NY had "confronted and defeated" the virus, and had "achieved what all the experts told us was impossible."

Today, things look

3. Today, New York has 338 people hospitalized with COVID per million residents.

This is the HIGHEST NUMBER IN ANY STATE by a considerable margin.

https://t.co/Hl4fsFxB6l


4. Overall, 46K New Yorkers have died of COVID, which trails only California (47K), a state with 2x as many people.

On a per capita basis, New York has had more deaths than every state but New Jersey.

Cuomo made decisions that made things

5. A new report by NY AG Letitia James (D) found Cuomo's order requiring nursing homes to accept residents w/COVID "may have put residents at increased risk of harm"

Cuomo dismissed criticisms of his nursing home policies in his book as

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