Amnesty International USA calls Rubio's "fraud" remark a playbook for avoiding accountability
Amnesty International USAHuman rights organization; blog post by Amanda Klasing, national director of government relations and advocacy
Amnesty USA says Rubio answered a question about U.S. use of Lajes air base by attacking Amnesty, points to its research on abuses by Iranian authorities, and calls his response a playbook for avoiding accountability.
Responding to
Amnesty International is a fraud, and it should be focused on the Iranian government's killings of protesters.
“So when he calls a human rights organization a fraud for doing its job, that's not confusion. That's just his playbook for avoiding accountability.”
Official statement
Original text
Where this statement fits
Rubio calls Amnesty International "a fraud" over a question on Lajes air base; Amnesty USA says he is avoiding accountability
Asked at an October 8, 2026 news conference in Lisbon about U.S. use of Portugal's Lajes air base and Amnesty International's statement that Portugal should not support war crimes, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said "Amnesty International is a fraud" and that the group should focus on killings by Iran's government. Amnesty International USA said Rubio did not answer the question and called his response a playbook for avoiding accountability. Conservative commentator Eric Daugherty praised Rubio's answer.
Source and context
Official statement
About this source
Amnesty International USA blog post by Amanda Klasing, its national director of government relations and advocacy, responding to Rubio's October 8 remark. It describes the reporter's question, lists Amnesty's research on Iran, and discusses the Minab school strike and U.S. policy toward the International Criminal Court.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Original text
About this source
State Department transcript of Rubio's joint news conference with Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel at the Palacio das Necessidades in Lisbon on October 8, 2026. A reporter asks about U.S. use of Lajes air base, the Portuguese prosecutor's inquiry and Amnesty International's statement; Rubio answers.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Amnesty USA says a journalist asked Rubio about a statement from Amnesty's Portuguese office urging Portugal to keep the United States from using Lajes air base if that would aid breaches of international law, and that Rubio called Amnesty a fraud instead of answering. The post lists Amnesty's research on the Iranian authorities' crackdown on protesters.
After the quotation
The post links to video of the news conference and urges the U.S. government to protect the people of Iran and across the Middle East.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The case looks at Rubio calling Amnesty International a fraud. Amnesty USA rejects the remark as a tactic to deflect questions about U.S. conduct, so we labeled it a condemnation.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Marco Rubio
More from this case
Read the full caseEric Daugherty says Rubio is "spot-on" about Amnesty International
“It's just another globalist organization that cozies up to Islamists and ignores the REAL crimes committed against humanity. Marco is spot-on”Read statement
Share or embed this statement
The embed keeps its attribution link to The Dispute Index. Credit the image to The Dispute Index and link to the statement page.
Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Amnesty International USA calls Rubio's "fraud" remark a playbook for avoiding accountability
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/6851-amnesty-usa-says-rubio-answered-a-question-about
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Amnesty International USA calls Rubio's "fraud" remark a playbook for avoiding accountability". First published: 2026-10-26. Last updated: 2026-10-26. https://disputeindex.com/events/6851-amnesty-usa-says-rubio-answered-a-question-about