VERDICT: FALSE. The driver, who entered illegally, obtained a work permit after being denied by Trump.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is at it again, this time trying to deflect blame for his state granting a commercial driver’s license (CDL) to Harjinder Singh, who allegedly killed three other drivers on August 12.
Breitbart News reported this weekend on the accident, which has led to charges of vehicular homicide:
The driver of a semi-truck involved in the deaths of three Americans has been identified as Harjinder Singh, an illegal alien from India who illegally entered the U.S. in 2018 across the U.S. border with Mexico.
The accident occurred near Fort Pierce, Florida, on August 12, when a northbound semi-truck allegedly crossed over all lanes as the driver tried to use an “official use only” turn opening on the Florida Turnpike so he could head south.
The abrupt crossing of all lanes gave other drivers little time to slow down, resulting in a Chrysler Town & Country slamming head-on into the trailer. All three of the car’s occupants died as a result of the collision, two at the scene and a third at a hospital, according to WPTV-TV.
…
Officials initially noted that the men in the cab of the semi were from California, and video of the drivers’ dashcam was released. A statement from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FHSMV) said Singh obtained a commercial driver’s license (CDL) in California.
Newsom began arguing with the White House, blaming Trump for admitting Singh into the U.S. and defending the policy of providing driver’s licenses to illegal migrants, saying it “improves public safety.”
Trump’s “RapidResponse47” criticized Newsom, who then — via the “@GovPressOffice” account, run by communications director Izzy Gardon — repeated his claim that Trump admitted Singh into the U.S. in 2018:
Tricia LcLaughlin, the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security, then responded, pointing out that Singh had in fact been denied a work permit during Trump’s first term, but was granted one under President Joe Biden’s loose immigration policy:
The “@GovPressOffice” account did not respond directly, instead sharing an article from the San Francisco Chronicle that claimed Trump had “key facts” wrong in his response to the fatal Florida truck accident:
That article, however, did not actually back up Newsom’s claims. The Chronicle pointed out that it is legal for people with work permits to obtain CDL’s, and that California specifically excludes CDL’s from the licenses illegal migrants can obtain. (It did not establish when Singh obtained his CDL.)
But Newsom had specifically defended “issuing driver’s licenses for undocumented people” in his post about the accident. And he had falsely blamed Trump for granting Singh a work permit — a claim that the Chronicle did not address.
The Chronicle article also did not resolve the question of how Singh was allowed to stay in the U.S. — possibly in California, a sanctuary state — after being denied a work permit under the first Trump administration.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Zionist Conspiracy Wants You, now available on Amazon. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
Breitbart News
Read the full article .
