WHITE HOUSE: HEY, WE STILL HAVE THAT WINSTON CHURCHILL BUST (OR DO WE?)

In a post written by Dan Pfeiffer, the White House claims recent remarks made by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer are “100% false.”

“I’m looking forward to the bust of Winston Churchill being in the Oval Office again,” Romney said during hisoverseas trip in London

Meanwhile, Krauthammer writes President Obama “started his Presidency by returning to the British Embassy the bust of Winston Churchill that had graced the Oval Office.”

A British Embassy spokesman said: “The bust of Sir Winston Churchill by Sir Jacob Epstein was uniquely lent to a foreign head of state, President George W Bush, from the Government Art Collection in the wake of 9/11 as a signal of the strong transatlantic relationship.

“It was lent for the first term of office of President Bush. When the President was elected for his second and final term, the loan was extended until January 2009.

“The new President has decided not to continue this loan and the bust has now been returned. It is on display at the Ambassador’s Residence.“

Emphasis mine.

So, who’s lying? Obviously, the bust did leave the White House, went on display at the Ambassador’s Residence, and then made its way back to the White House.

And there’s more.

Diplomats were at first reluctant to discuss the whereabouts of the Churchill bronze, after its ejection from the seat of American power. But the British Embassy in Washington has now confirmed that it sits in the palatial residence of ambassador Sir Nigel Sheinwald, just down the road from Vice President Joe Biden’s official residence. It is not clear whether the ambassador plans to keep it in Washington or send it back to London.

Poor Team Obama. Can’t keep the lies straight.