Quote: "It is a lie to say that the president lied to the American people." Dick Cheney, quoting John McCain in a speech to a conservative think tank.
Figure of Speech: polyptoton (poe LIP toe ton), the root repeater.
The polyptoton (Greek for "multiple grammatical cases") repeats the root of a word while changing its ending -- "lie" to "lied," for instance. Robert Frost used the figure when he said, "Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired." (Thanks, Richard Nordquist.)
Snappy Answer: "Is it misleading to say he misled them?"