'Can this be fact checked?' Looks like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez just got caught pushing a lie

Earlier today, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shared a woeful tale about an encounter with a victim of the Trump Shutdown. Be warned: You might want to have a box of Kleenex handy for this one.

I just had a furloughed worker come visit me in my office.

“I work for HUD,” he said. “My family is hurting now that I’m three weeks without a paycheck,”

“but please – please don’t give into a wall. I don’t want the political tool of withholding my paycheck to be legitimized.”

— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) January 8, 2019

Wow.

You should have said it was an orphaned child. Better optics.

— prop op (@ProperOpinion) January 8, 2019

Well, hindsight is 20/20. Maybe next time. Meanwhile, back to the story:

This definitely happened. ? pic.twitter.com/DEhugCQkkZ

— TheBlaze (@theblaze) January 8, 2019

Well, if it did happen — and given the source, that’s a big “if” — the result of her sharing that story may actually make her look even worse than usual.

Can this be fact checked?

— Gary Johnson (@gdj0610) January 8, 2019

We know how she feels about being fact-checked, so we’re guessing she doesn’t want anyone to look at the story too closely. Otherwise, they might find that, once again, her math doesn’t add up.

According to OMB, federal employees, including those who work for HUD, were last paid December 28 (which was the usual pay day).

Their next pay day isn't until January 11. AOC is either lying or she was lied to. https://t.co/CY8OQEiBCy

— Friendly Gabriel Malor (@gabrielmalor) January 8, 2019

There has been some game playing with verb tenses on this. 'I'm not getting paid" is technically true at the moment, but even people who are not getting paid at the moment haven't missed a paycheck yet.

That happens at the end of the week, if the shutdown isn't resolved first.

— Friendly Gabriel Malor (@gabrielmalor) January 8, 2019

And, yes, it is an incredible strain to not know whether you're going to receive your direct deposit like usual, and we shouldn't minimize the stupidity and cruelty of doing that to people.

But we should also not wrongly imply that it has already occurred when it hasn't.

— Friendly Gabriel Malor (@gabrielmalor) January 8, 2019

Well, when facts don’t matter, you can imply whatever you want to.

I suppose she'd say that's "morally accurate."

— Kyle Sammin (@KyleSammin) January 8, 2019

Oh, she definitely would. And that may work on her slobbering minions, but it doesn’t work on us.

Pay is due Friday, Friday will be the first missed payroll. My daughter will miss her first check Friday! Seriously this chick is a fraud! My daughter got a check after the govt closed for the weeks she worked before the shutdown. People believe all the crap these fools say.

— Emily Tardif (@mle_anne_) January 8, 2019

He was last paid Friday, December 28, at the earliest. Might even have been December 31.

Next one due this Friday, January 11. That would be the first one he misses.

I am sure the strain of uncertainty is hard, but honesty is required here. Lying is wrong. https://t.co/obF4gMbFVi

— Nathan, son of Robert (@NathanWurtzel) January 8, 2019

So @AOC lied. Bigtime.

First missed paycheck is this week. So the HUD worker could not possibly have said what he said.https://t.co/Cv6ftmx22A

— RBe (@RBPundit) January 8, 2019

Go figure.

Or the HUD worker lied to @AOC and she is just gullible enough to believe it.

— I'm giving it all in a moment or two. (@ggardener09) January 8, 2019

I'm more inclined to think the conversation never happened. https://t.co/U2F1FBE7rq

— RBe (@RBPundit) January 8, 2019

In any event, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez looks bad. Again.

I don't get why journalists keep screwing this up, but I'd imagine that AOC simply believed what she read in the papers and used that to concoct a little Trumpian fib.

— Friendly Gabriel Malor (@gabrielmalor) January 8, 2019

AOC is absolutely lying about the HUD worker.

100% lies.

Let's see who in the media calls her out on it.

— RBe (@RBPundit) January 8, 2019

If anyone does, they’d better be prepared for a fight. She doesn’t take kindly to being called out on her bull.

If they fact check this easily provable lie, she’ll cry sexism. Decisions, decisions, MSM https://t.co/OY9c6MjxX4

— Will (@Oil_Guns_Merica) January 8, 2019

Editor’s note: This post has been updated with additional text and tweets.

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Update:

Here’s something worth noting:

Sort of fitting that the first tweet on AOC's official twitter page is a lie.

Don't you think, @GlennKesslerWP?https://t.co/5MiJCAzouq

— RBe (@RBPundit) January 8, 2019