Quotables

‘No.’

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest, in answer to the question: “Can you state categorically that no senior official in this administration has ever lied publicly about any aspect of the Iran nuclear deal.” The question came from Fox News correspondent Kevin Corke.

‘We are a dying breed.’

Shauna Heckert, executive director of Women’s Health Specialists of California, on the unwillingness of many new doctors to perform abortions and the trend toward abortion clinics closing across the country over the last several years.

‘Bonjour, but everybody knows that.’

Nathanial White, a student at Energy Institute High School, a public school in Houston, Texas, on whether he has ever heard his French teacher speak French. A local news team discovered that the teacher, Albert Moyer, had not studied French beyond one year in high school. White said students had to use Google to answer their questions.

‘The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old, and their only reporting experience consists of being around political campaigns. That’s a sea change. They literally know nothing.’

Ben Rhodes, President Obama’s deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, on reporters in Washington who cover world events. Rhodes admitted to The New York Times that he manipulated media coverage of the Iran nuclear deal.

‘Some conduct is unforgivable no matter how old it is.’

U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin on April 27 while sentencing former House Speaker (1999-2007) Dennis Hastert to 15 months in prison. Hastert admitted to molesting boys as a high-school wrestling coach some four decades ago, but he was convicted only for illegal hush money transactions, because the statute of limitations had expired for the abuse allegations.