Debate Fact Check: Washington Lobbyist David Jolly Doesn’t Tell The Truth

Just moments into the debate, we’re already seeing why Pinellas  residents can’t trust lying Lobbyist Jolly to tell the truth. Here are the facts about Washington Lobbyist Jolly’s record of not telling the truth:

JOLLY CLAIM: Lobbyist Jolly said “I have never lobbied for offshore oil drilling…it’s a complete fabrication.”  

• PolitiFact: Mostly False: David Jolly says he ‘never lobbied for offshore oil drilling.’
   
• Tampa Bay Times: “Candidate Jolly says he did not lobby for oil bill, despite document that says he did”

JOLLY CLAIM: Lobbyist Jolly claims he did not lobby on Social Security reform for extreme group that supports privatization.

• Tampa Bay Times: “Report indicates Jolly lobbied for Social Security reform but he says he did not.”
  
  
• Tampa Bay Times’ Daniel Ruth: “…Jolly had registered as a lobbyist for offshore oil drilling interests and a group that wants to privatize Social Security. But if Jolly is to be believed, he has carved out a unique lobbying specialty of getting hired by offshore oil drilling supporters and Social Security reformers precisely not to lobby on those issues. Is Washington not a great city of opportunity?”

JOLLY CLAIM: Lobbyist Jolly claims he was “overcomplying” on lobbying disclosure forms.

• Public Citizen Congress Watch Division director Lisa Gilbert: “It would be extremely uncommon for any lobbyist to overreport what their work entailed.”
   
• Lisa Rosenberg, Sunlight Foundation: “I think he’s trying to make a little revisionist history here…I have never heard of anyone saying I over-complied by reporting extra issues I’m not really advocating for. This is a new one to me.”
   
• Tampa Bay Times’ Tim Nickens: “His explanation that he did not lobby for the bill but overcomplied with disclosure laws sounds awfully convenient.”
   
• Washington Post’s Dana Milbank: “Overcomplying, eh? Sounds as if Jolly is overreaching.”