Glenn Kessler
Washington Post "Fact Checker" Columnist


Veteran diplomatic correspondent Glenn Kessler writes “The Fact Checker” column for The Washington Post and washingtonpost.com. Almost on a daily basis, he probes and examines the statements of political figures and diplomats, trying to discern the truth behind the rhetoric. If the statement falls short, Glenn explains why and awards as many as four “Pinocchios” to the offending party.

 

Glenn Kessler is the author of The Confidante: Condoleezza Rice and the Creation of the Bush Legacy. The book, which revealed new details on the making of the Bush administration’s foreign policy, was hailed as “brilliantly reported” by the New York Times Book Review and generated news articles and reviews in at least two dozen countries around the world.

 

During a journalism career stretching more than three decades, he has been White House correspondent, national political correspondent, congressional correspondent, chief economic correspondent, and Wall Street correspondent. He also was a senior editor on The Post’s financial desk, overseeing the reporting of a dozen reporters based in Washington and New York, and the top editor of a major financial magazine.

 

Glenn Kessler has won numerous journalism awards, including two shared Pulitzer Prizes. His investigative articles on airline safety led to the indictments of airline executives and federal officials for fraud, prompted congressional hearings into safety issues, and led the federal government to impose new safety rules for DC-9 jets and begin regular inspections of foreign airlines.

 

Glenn Kessler has lectured at Harvard University, Brown University, Stanford University, University of Texas-Austin, Occidental College, and the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. He has spoken before the Council on Foreign Relations, the Brookings Institution, the Aspen Institute, the New America Foundation, and World Affairs Councils around the country. He appears frequently on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, C-Span, and international news networks.

 

Glenn is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He received a master’s degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs in 1983 and a bachelor’s degree in European history from Brown University in 1981. He lives in McLean, VA.

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Hardcover
The Confidante
Condoleezza Rice and the Creation of the Bush Legacy
St. Martin's Press

A riveting glimpse into the life of one of the most powerful Secretaries of State in recent years.

Fact Checking Politicians and Political Ads Glenn details the most egregious lies of the campaign season and explains how he ferrets out the truth on a variety of issues from health care to the federal budget
The New Journalism of Fact Checking Glenn explains why a “fact-checking” boon has emerged in journalism around the globe, and why it has a growing impact.



Be careful of snippets in attack ads, Glenn Kessler writes

Read Glenn Kessler’s article on the growing fact-checking movement

Watch the ABC interview with Glenn Kessler on fact checking, Trump, and pinocchios

Follow Glenn Kessler on Twitter

Stay updated on Glenn Kessler’s work at The Washington Post

Check out Glenn Kessler’s website

Praise for The Confidante "A tour de force. I have followed Rice for years, yet reading this book I feel like I only now understand her."
--Thomas E. Ricks, author of Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq

"Kessler, in this timely and important book, identifies the principal weakness of Rice’s stewardship as the absence of any 'coherent foreign policy vision,' especially regarding the Middle East.  The calamitous consequences for America of this shortcoming are likely to be felt for years to come."
--Zbigniew Brzezinski, national security advisor, 1977-1981

"Glenn Kessler is a tough, independent beat reporter of the old school. His chronicle of Condoleezza Rice's turn as Secretary of State is meticulous and fair, but it provides a devastating account of how Rice's diplomacy often rested on wish and illusion, and was finally overwhelmed by the Bush Administration's failed foreign policies."
--Steve Coll, author of Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001

"Glenn Kessler has amassed a wealth of new material about Condoleezza Rice and the people around her. If you want to get beyond the image-makers and find out what Condoleezza Rice has actually been doing as secretary of state, this is the right book for you."
--James Mann, Johns Hopkins University and author of Rise of the Vulcans: The History of the Bush War Cabinet