Ben Carson Admits He Lied About Getting Accepted To West Point

Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson long maintained he was offered a full scholarship to the United States Military Academy at West Point in New York.

However, an investigation by Politico led Carson's campaign manager to say Carson didn't even end up applying.

Carson was an ROTC student in Detroit in high school. According to at least one of his books, he was introduced to General William Westmoreland who encouraged him to apply to West Point. Following that meeting, Carson wrote, he was offered a full scholarship to the academy.

But Barry Bennett, Carson's campaign manager, told Politico,

[Carson] was introduced to folks from West Point by his ROTC Supervisors. They told him they could help him get an appointment based on his grades and performance in ROTC. He considered it but in the end did not seek admission.

A spokeswoman from West Point told Politico there were no records Carson started to apply to the school, which requires a long series of steps to get admitted. The spokeswoman said,

If he chose to pursue [the application process] then we would have records indicating such.

Not to mention, tuition at West Point is already covered, so the idea of a "full scholarship" is hazy at best.

Citations: Ben Carson admits fabricating West Point scholarship (Politico)