Tuesday, January 15, 2013 5:27:00 PM | by v-bafitz
Lies of the rich and famous
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Lance Armstrong
Lance Armstrong said, 'Everybody wants to know what I'm on. What am I on? I'm on my bike.' The seven-time Tour de France winner has been stripped of his titles, and sources say he told Oprah Winfrey in an interview that he had used performance-enhancing drugs.
Lucas Jackson/Reuters
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Marion Jones
Marion Jones told a grand jury that she had never used performance-enhancing drugs. She later admitted that she used banned drugs, and she forfeited the five medals she won in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.
Tom Putt/Rex Features
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Pete Rose
Pete Rose repeatedly insisted he never bet on baseball while he was managing the Cincinatti Reds. Major League Baseball declared him permanently ineligible, and he will never be in the Hall of Fame. In 2004, he admitted to betting on baseball but insists he never bet against his own team.
Rex Features
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Michael Vick
Michael Vick initially denied any involvement in a dog-fighting ring. The former Atlanta Falcons quarterback eventually came clean and he served time in prison. He plays for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Startraks Photo/Rex Features
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Arnold Schwarzenegger
Actor and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger only recently revealed that he fathered a son more than 10 years ago while he was married to Maria Shriver. Shriver filed for divorce in 2011.
Ralph Orlowski/Reuters
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James Frey
James Frey said of his memoir 'A Million Little Pieces' that 'the only things I changed were aspects of people that might reveal their identity.' When skeptics uncovered lies and inconsistencies in the book, his publishers stood by him. But Frey later told Oprah Winfrey in an interview that he had embellished much of the story.
Agencia EFE/Rex Features
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Milli Vanilli
Milli Vanilli — aka Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus — won a Grammy in 1990. Shortly thereafter, another musician claimed Morvan and Pilatus didn't sing on their album 'Girl You Know It's True.' Their producer, Frank Farian, admitted the deception.
Sipa Press/Rex Features
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Richard Heene
Richard Heene sparked a mass rescue effort and riveted the media with a bogus claim that his son, Falcon, floated away in a helium balloon. Heene later pleaded guilty to charges related to what was called the 'balloon boy hoax.'
ABC/ Getty Images
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Glenn Beck
At a rally, Glenn Beck claimed to have held George Washington's handwritten Inaugural Address in his hands. It did not take long for a spokeswoman for the National Archives to point out that such a thing could never happen. Beck acknowledged the fib.
Lucas Jackson/Reuters
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Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton said of Monica Lewinsky, 'I did not have sexual relations with that woman.' Clinton, then president, was called to testify before a grand jury and later admitted to an inappropriate relationship with the former White House intern.
James Atoa/Everett Collection/Rex Features
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John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy played on the public's fear of a 'missile gap' that gave the Soviets strategic superiority over the United States. The truth was, the missile gap was actually in favor of the U.S., and it was the Soviets who were behind.
c. Think Film/Everett/Rex Features
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Bill O'Reilly
Bill O'Reilly, discussing his tabloid show 'Inside Edition,' said 'We won Peabody Awards.' He later insisted that he misspoke and that the show had won less-prestigious Polk awards.
Paul Drinkwater/NBC/Photo Bank/Getty Images
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John Edwards
John Edwards denied allegations that he was having an affair while married to his first wife, Elizabeth Edwards. In 2010, Edwards issued a press release admitting that he had a baby with his mistress, Rielle Hunter.
John Adkisson/Reuters
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Andrew Jackson
President Andrew Jackson referred to Native Americans as 'savage hunters,' implying they were a threat. By playing on the public's fears, he pushed through the Indian Removal Act in 1830. Most Cherokee were forcibly removed from their land and relocated West.
John Parrot/Stocktrek Images/Getty Images
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Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clinton said 'I remember landing under sniper fire' in Bosnia, claiming she was sent to the country because it was too dangerous for her husband, then-President Bill Clinton. But photos of Clinton's arrival at the airport show a peaceful greeting ceremony.
KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images
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Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin said, 'I told the Congress 'thanks but no thanks' for that Bridge to Nowhere.' Palin, however, supported the Gravina Island Bridge while she was governor of Alaska.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
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Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon said, 'I'm not a crook' in a press conference in 1973. Nixon insisted he didn't know about illegal activity in his administration, but tapes of conversations in the White House revealed that he knew about and actively covered up the Watergate break-in.
AP
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Jan Brewer
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer said, 'My father died fighting the Nazi regime in Germany,' but her father was a civilian working in a factory during World War II, and he died 10 years after the war. Brewer defended her claim, saying she considered his death to be war-related. 'My father’s patriotism and sacrifice needs no embellishment,' she said.
Keystone/ZUMA/Rex Features
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George H.W. Bush
'Read my lips: No new taxes' — that was George H.W. Bush's most memorable sound bite. Two years later, Bush was forced to raise taxes. In the next election, his opponent, Bill Clinton, exploited the sound bite to his advantage and won the race for president.
SIPA PRESS/Rex Features
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Aldrich Ames
Aldrich Ames was a CIA analyst earning a modest salary, but living in a lavish house and driving a Jaguar. The CIA disovered that he was spying for the Soviets and Russia, and Ames is now serving a life sentence in prison.
Getty Images
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Jayson Blair
Jayson Blair was a rising star at the New York Times when his bosses noticed similarities between one of his stories and a story in another newspaper. An investigation revealed that Blair had plagiarized parts of articles and fabricated details and quotes. The Times reported the scandal on its front page.
Jennifer Szymaszek/AP
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Janet Cooke
Janet Cooke, a reporter for The Washington Post, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1981 for 'Jimmy's World,' a story about an 8-year-old heroin addict. When D.C. officials could not locate such a boy, Cooke admitted to lying, resigned and returned her prize.
AP
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Frank Abagnale Jr.
Frank Abagnale assumed at least eight identities during his long career as a con man and forger. His life story inspired the movie 'Catch Me If You Can.' After serving time in prison, he now works as a consultant for the FBI.
Carolyn Contino/BEI/Rex Features
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Susan Smith
In 1994, Susan Smith told police that a black man stole her car while her two sons were inside. Investigators almost immediately suspected she was lying, and they soon revealed that she had driven the car with her two young sons inside it into a lake.
Lou Krask/AP
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Bernie Madoff
Bernie Madoff admitted his investment business was 'one big lie.' That was the truth. Madoff admitted to defrauding his investors; clients are owed roughly $10 billion. He's currently serving a 150-year sentence in a federal prison in New York.