This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Washington • Rep. Chris Stewart of Utah is defending Sen. Marco Rubio over an attack ad airing in Iowa claiming the Florida senator missed a key congressional briefing on the Paris terrorist attacks in November.
Stewart, a member of the House Intelligence Committee who has endorsed Rubio, took issue with the ad, aired by a super PAC behind former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, that plays into the criticism of Rubio for missing more votes than any other senator while running for president.
"Days after the Paris attacks, senators came together for a top secret briefing on the terrorist threat," the ad says. "Marco Rubio was missing – fundraising in California instead."
Rubio did miss that briefing for a fund-raiser, though his campaign has stated that the senator hit another briefing the day before and another one after.
In a statement released by Rubio's campaign, Stewart says the pro-Bush ad is dishonest.
"As a member of the House Intelligence Committee and a former Air Force pilot, I'm proud to support Marco who understands more than any other candidate the threats facing our country, knows how we can defeat ISIS, and is ready to be commander-in-chief," Stewart said. "It's disappointing that Jeb Bush's Super PAC decided to discard clear facts for political gain. Jeb Bush is better than the Los Angeles-based Super PAC trying to deceive voters."
– Thomas Burr,
twitter.com/thomaswburr