PolitiFact rates WH COS Rahm Emanuel’s statement False.

PolitiFact.com looked into White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel’s claim that President Bush gave the U.S. auto manufacturers a blank check, and at my response.

PolitiFact examined this key quote from the Chief of Staff:

In the case of General Motors, the prior administration wrote a check without asking for any conditions of change.

PolitiFact rated the White House Chief of Staff’s statement false and shows this “Truth-O-Meter.”

Here is PolitiFact’s concluding paragraph:

Emanuel’s statement — “In the case of General Motors, the (Bush) administration wrote a check without asking for any conditions of change” — implies that the Obama administration was tough while the Bush administration just threw money at the problem. Actually, the Bush administration detailed a number of conditions for change at General Motors, and Obama’s administration could have recalled the loans soon after taking office if officials felt the auto companies were not compliant. The Treasury Department documents and press reports contradict Emanuel’s claim, so we rate his statement False.

PolitiFact won a Pulitzer Prize in 2008 for their coverage of the 2008 election. ABC News relies on PolitiFact for fact-checking.

I hope someone from the White House press corps follows up.