Iraq War ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’ Spokeswoman to Host Fundraiser for Virginia Democrat Dorothy McAuliffe

Torie Clarke, best known for her role as the chief George W. Bush-era Pentagon spokeswoman at the start of the second Gulf War, is co-hosting a fundraiser for Democrat Dorothy McAuliffe’s congressional campaign next Tuesday, according to an invitation obtained by NOTUS.

Clarke, who previously worked for three Republican presidential administrations and the late Sen. John McCain, is hosting the fundraiser with her husband, Brian Graham, at their home in Northwest Washington, D.C., the invitation indicates.

Clarke was assistant secretary of defense for public affairs to then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld during the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. She helped craft the narrative that Iraq had “weapons of mass destruction” before the U.S. invaded in 2003. That turned out to not be true. Clarke is currently the president of the board of the Rumsfeld Foundation.

Then-Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Torie Clarke (right) takes a question on April 16, 2002, at the Pentagon briefing in Washington. Air Force Brig. Gen. John W. Rosa Jr., looks on left. Joe Marquette/AP

The fundraiser price of entry ranges from $500 as a “guest” to $7,000 as a “host.”