Joe Rogan Experience #2545 - Jesse Michels · Aired Aug 25, 2026
Claim summary · not a verbatim quotation
James Clapper lied in front of Congress about wiretapping.
The finding
What the evidence shows
Clapper did tell Congress in 2013 that the NSA doesn't collect data on millions of Americans, which turned out to be false once Snowden's leaks came out weeks later, and Clapper later admitted the answer was erroneous. But he's always maintained it was a mistake rather than a deliberate lie, and he was never charged with perjury. Calling it a settled lie skips over a real, unresolved dispute about intent.
Read the supporting source · en.wikipedia.org ↗Quick answer & review status
Quick answer
Is it true that James Clapper lied in front of Congress about wiretapping?
Partly. The claim stretches what the evidence shows. Clapper did tell Congress in 2013 that the NSA doesn't collect data on millions of Americans, which turned out to be false once Snowden's leaks came out weeks later, and Clapper later admitted the answer was erroneous. Jesse Michels said it (matched by voice) on Joe Rogan Experience #2545 - Jesse Michels, aired Aug 25, 2026, at 1:28:42. The supporting source is en.wikipedia.org, linked below.
The context belongs here.
No separately verified on-air correction is recorded for this check. That is not a claim that nobody corrected it.
- Attribution
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- Editorial context review
- Not recorded; generated finding
- Coverage
- One selected claim from the episode
Revisions to this check
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