DHS Secretary Claims Under Oath: 'I Did Not Hear' Trump Say 'S**thole Countries'

It could be that. False claims do occur, and can be very detrimental to ones reputation.

It could also be that only two people had the integrity to speak up about it.

We are military folk, we know that when people fear reprisal, they stay quiet and/or lie. I don't know how many online command climate surveys I've seen where Soldiers will speak about their grievances in private or within the "trusted" unit area; but as soon as the sensing session arrives, nobody has anything to say. It's not because the issues are fabricated, but because people fear the unknown consequences of removing their anonymity.

This whole fiasco is over the words "Shithole" versus "Shithead". Nobody denies that he used derogatory terms when he spoke of those countries, to include the conservatives within the room, and even the WH didn't deny it. So, it really doesn't matter. The people defending him are literally wordsmithing their way around whether or not he used the exact word of "Shithole" as a means to defend him. It reminds me of the whole fiasco around the comment "It depends upon what the meaning of the word 'is' is." I don't really care which exact word it was that he used.

Not that surprising. I have been in many meetings where people are talking, some where there is raised voices, and did not hear the same thing someone else claims they heard. That doesn't mean I was lying or they were lying. I am sure you have taken the test where one person says something to another and it is relayed, everyone doesn't process the same thing. Particularly if you happened to be listening to someone else at the time or wasn't paying close attention.
BLUF, why did it matter? Reporting it poisoned any attempts at reaching a deal.