WASHINGTON (CBS) – Sen. Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts, apologized on camera Wednesday following a new report about her claims of Native American heritage.

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that Warren listed her race as “American Indian” on a State Bar of Texas registration card in 1986.

Warren told reporters “I am not a tribal citizen” and recounted a conversation with Cherokee National Principal Chief Bill John Baker.

“I told Chief Baker that I am sorry that I extended confusion about tribal citizenship and tribal sovereignty and for harm caused,” she said. “I am also sorry for not being more mindful of this decades ago. Tribes and only tribes determine tribal citizenship.”

Warren is exploring a run for the White House. President Donald Trump has repeatedly labeled her “Pocahontas” as a result of the heritage controversy.

In October, Warren released a DNA test reportedly showing that a Native American relative appears in her family tree 6 to 10 generations ago. The test did not silence critics and the Cherokee Nation has called using DNA tests to lay claim to Native American heritage “inappropriate and wrong.”

The Cherokee Nation said last week that Warren has apologized for the DNA test.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (CBS News)

“There’s no doubt about it, this is becoming politically toxic for her,” WBZ-TV’s Jon Keller said.

Despite this being the scandal she can’t separate from, there’s no real evidence Warren used what she believed to be her heritage to gain advantages in her career. Still, Keller says the distraction can be damaging.

“However fact-free this miasma of speculation about her integrity renders her as unlikely to do as well in a possible match up with Trump as some other candidates, it’s a problem,” Keller says. “There’s no getting around it.”

Last September, Boston Globe reporters found no trace of favorable treatment because of the heritage claims. They also found employers were mostly unaware of her heritage during the hiring process.

The prospective 2020 Democratic presidential candidate is expected to formally announce her entrance into the race on Saturday.

Comments (47)
  1. Alan B Flood says:

    This politician is a lawyer, how do we know when a lawyer is lying – they open their mouth.

    1. Mark Choi says:

      And where is here lie, exactly?

  2. Joe Casey says:

    I am not a tribal citizen. Okay, then why did you repeatedly claim you were when applying for jobs and for the Texas bar?

    1. Mark Choi says:

      Warren never once claimed tribal citizenship. Not once. Why is truth and fact so har for you people?!?

  3. Christine Swanson Penberthy says:

    The Trumps claimed to be Swedish for years. Incredibly offensive to those of us with Swedish ancestry. Not to mention a BIG FAT LIE.

    1. Dave Hardesty says:

      Nice attempt to fabricate a lie with partial truth. Get over yourself.

    2. Peter Litwin says:

      Why does every egregious act committed by a Democrat political leader prompt Democrat supporters to taunt and ridicule President Trump? Trump probably does have some Swedish ancestry. What’s your point? He’s never tried to curry favor on governmental forms or applying for loans by claiming to be Swedish.

      1. Mark Choi says:

        Maybe, just maybe, because Trump is 100% responsible for this even being an issue.

  4. Christopher Colon says:

    Washington post dug up public Record on Senator Elizabeth Warren‘s Native American.Washington post should also dig up public records on Obama registration.what do you think America they should do it to him too,registration & Birth certificate share it to Senator Elizabeth Warren share share share.

    1. Mark Choi says:

      Obama’s birth certificate was released by the state of Hawai’i YEARS ago. You need to check back in with your puppet masters.
      Also, there is a reason they didn’t release it before: doing so was a violation of Hawai’i state law.
      But don;t let facts get in the way of a stupid argument.

  5. Andy Shepherdson says:

    Lets get the language right. She’s not an Indian, she has no more Indian ancestry than the average typical white person living in America, she is a blonde white woman with blue eyes and it is absurd for her to claim that she got no preferential treatment by claiming to be a minority when she was not.

    1. Mark Choi says:

      Literally nothing you wrote is factually accurate. Not. One. Thing.

      1. Joe Casey says:

        Why would anyone defend her on this matter? Why would anyone say she did not lie? She is not an “American Indian” as she claimed on her Texas bar exam, her application for professorships at Penn ans Harvard law, as she tried to claim her DNA test proved. How are those not lies?

  6. Jordan Lewis Ring says:


    1. Mark Choi says:

      Yeah that’s why we lost the House and lead in every opinion poll, both as a party and on all major issues.
      Oh wait….

  7. Sharron Jones says:

    There is a lot about black face and how offended Black Americans are. They are telling officals should resign from office for doing it years and years ago. WHAT about American Indians? How many have dressed up like them and made fun of them? Lied about being an American Indian… You all know who I am talking about now. She should be made to resign. Hell NO she is going to run for President. She committed the same act these others did. She did it for Years. How can that be over looked? Is it just who we care about being offended?Why is it just black Americans being offended? Racism, it is the same thing.

    1. What about all those that dressed up as witches for halloween? Do they get to be offended now? I mean, this could be endless. That said, people, don’t do black face. It’s not a good idea. Just don’t do it. I guess unless you live in Virginia. Seems everybody does it there.

  8. Rich Hern says:


    1. Mark Choi says:

      Name one thing she lied about.

  9. Dennis Taylor says:

    Lieawatha is a cheat,liar,fake,fraud,imposter but her worst attribute is she’s a democrat and that in itself sours her for being president,after watching those loons on the left acting out during the sotu address I’m never voting democrat ever again.It was like watching a circus sideshow,Trump is good enough untill 2024 and then Pence can take the reins.

    1. Mark Choi says:

      Name a single thing she lied about.
      Go ahead, I’ll wait.
      Also, grow up.

  10. Alan Smithee says:

    So funny…. the folks in Bas-ton still trying to cover up for Warren: “In October, Warren released a DNA test reportedly showing that a Native American relative appears in her family tree 6 to 10 generations ago.”

    Horse pile. The “Native American” is South American, and the 1/1024 is less than the DNA test error rate, which means you can’t prove ANY amount… statistically it’s zero.

    1. Mark Choi says:

      Care to take a quick test to prove you have even the basic competence in statistics necessary to support you making that comment?

  11. Dave Fay says:

    Warren’s changes of now of ever becoming president are 1 in 1064.

  12. David Smith says:

    So by “tribal citizen” you mean immigrant from Asia that got their ass kicked by Europeans.

  13. Robert Catanzaro says:

    The statute of limitations has long expired. Texas cannot prosecute her, nor should they.
    Here’s the problem as I, a centrist and certainly no fan of Trump or Warren, see it.
    She, like so many others, did something wrong years ago. It would seem that she has now acknowledged it and apologized, if this article is to be believed, to the Chief of a major Indian nation.
    If the Cherokee have accepted her apology, that should be good enough. But it isn’t.
    This country has lost its ability to forgive.
    Look at our justice system, Long sentences for minor offenses, post offense registries, private entities running jails, all in the most incarcerated nation in the world, both per capita and in absolute numbers.
    It’s near impossible for someone in America to make a serious mistake, politically or criminally, and have any meaningful chance of recovering from it.
    Land of the free? What a joke. And sadly the joke is on all of us.

    Don’t vote for Warren if you don’t like her views on issues that concern you. And don’t let this stupid mistake from her past influence your decision one way or the other.

    1. Stan Olson says:

      I had an American Indian costume when I was 12 years old 60 years ago. That’s the reason why I never pursued a political office in my adult life.

  14. Peter Litwin says:

    Kudos to CBS for airing this! The cannibal is eaten by her own cannibalism. The same extremism she promotes now undermines her. Maybe this will dampen Warren’s self-righteous, sanctimonious tirades.

  15. Rerun Danger says:

    Warren is a person of color… we need to believe all women, especially people of color women… and every more especially if the are injun people of color women.

    if warren is gay, even more especially..

  16. Lets rephrase: Warren is a liar! She attempted to gain advantage by claiming Native American lineage(a lie) numerous times in her career and now she and her defenders claim that because she didn’t materially benefit(another lie) from the lie that she is exonerated. She is a liar, a fraud, and a danger to America if elected to even higher office…send her back to the reservation!

  17. Vince Peterson says:

    Should she become President, could anyone keep a straight face when they play the official entrance – tribute song for her … “Hail to the Chief” ? Just asking.

  18. Kevin Bearly says:

    Notice the liar does not say she is not native American. Just not a member of a specific tribe. Of course being a liar makes her a more popular candidate for either party.

  19. Steve Lewis says:

    Warren suffers from schizophrenia which means that she thinks that she is somebody that she is not. Many people voted for Warren because she blew smoke up their butts and they bought the lies. Do you people in Massachusetts always believe certifiably schizophrenic politicians and vote for them thinking that they understand reality?

  20. Yeah, 30+ years too late. What a joke, her chances for the nomination are over, I’d say her career is over but the Dems won’t go that far, they don’t care about a politician lying, but know that she’s too much of a risk now to run for pres, Hillary 2.0.

  21. Larry Waltz says:

    Any black face? I fell in a mud puddle one day and got pretty dirty including my face. I suppose I’m a racist now. Darn it.

  22. Charlie J Sheehan says:

    When she is in Lawrence this Saturday to make her announcement, is she going to claim to be 1/1064th Mill Girl.

  23. David Reed says:

    Again, mincing words. She originally said she was American Indian and her response is that she’s not a member of the tribe or a Cherokee citizen. I am. She’s not.

    1. Mark Choi says:

      It’s not mincing words, it’s have respect for facts and the truth, something you people clearly have a great deal of trouble with.

  24. Mike Arvand says:

    1/1024 of an apology?

  25. Dennis Canfield says:

    “falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus”

    1. Mark Choi says:

      Except for the inconvenient fact that she didn’t lie about anything.
      Do you need that in Latin?

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