Dems deny Fox flag story

DENVER, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Democratic officials Saturday denied a news report that Republicans picked 12,000 U.S. flags from the trash after the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

Fox News reported supporters of Republican presidential nominee John McCain claimed a vendor at Invesco Field told them the flags were left in trash bags near garbage bins following Democratic nominee Barack Obama's acceptance speech Aug. 28.

The McCain supporters said they distributed the flags at a McCain rally Saturday in Colorado Springs, Colo. Members of the crowd booed when right-wing Denver radio talk show host Dan Caplis announced the flags had been left behind at the Democratic convention, Fox said.

The Democratic National Convention Committee said Saturday the flags were not being discarded, but were to be used at other events.

"We distributed more than 125,000 American-made flags at the convention -- the flags removed from Invesco Field were intended for other events and taken without permission," the committee said in a statement. "It's disappointing that someone would take American flags without authorization and then falsely describe how they were being used."

The committee said Democrats "have the utmost respect for the American flag, and it's sad to see them being used for a cheap political stunt."