Fact-checking ships passing in the night here. I intend to issue a fact-check-check. (Tapper: cnn.com/videos/politic… Bruenig: peoplespolicyproject.org/2018/08/13/the…) 
1. As several people have pointed out to Tapper and he seems to ignore, one can see simply from watching CNN's video closely that he mischaracterizes Sanders' and AOC's remarks. Both clearly say that the American people will save $2T; neither says the US govt will save that much.
2. However, there is a section of CNN's video in which Tapper acknowledges and dismisses that the Mercatus study shows $2T of savings overall. He says he asked the authors of the study about it and they claimed they had just built in Sanders' own assumptions.
3. CNN's video doesn't go beyond asking the Mercatus team what their study says. This is a form of two-sides-to-this-controversy reporting, but it doesn't count as fact-checking. The authors of the study might say anything, particularly if their work has embarrassed their patrons
So.. everyone seems to concede the study truly says the thing Sanders and AOC claimed it did. CNN mischaracterized those claims. CNN's reporting introduced a new claim from the study authors that the $2T figure was an assumption rather than a finding. That remains unverified.
A Washington Post fact-check recapitulates these same essential errors, allowing the study's author to claim without evidence that the $2T in savings was due to an assumption rather than a finding--even though that *contradicts* WaPo's own reporting. washingtonpost.com/news/fact-chec…
WaPo's Kessler does go to the effort of finding some Democrat who stated the matter somewhat ambiguously, claiming the $2T of savings would accrue to "the nation." That person is Andrew Gillum, the candidate currently polling in 4th place in the FL Gov Democratic primary.
Kessler goes on to write, using the royal we, that "we don't intend to pick on Gillum" (again, the 4th place candidate in the FL Gov D Primary) and blames his not-untrue statement on the entire Democratic Party. Sure buddy.
This has been a fact-check-check. Enjoy your weekends.
