Joe Biden

Did President Joe Biden deviate from standard protocol following the death of former President Jimmy Carter on December 29, 2024, by ordering flags to be set at half-staff during President-elect Donald Trump's second inauguration? No, that's not true: Federal law requires flags to be flown at half-staff for 30 days after the death of a president or former president. This…

Has the New York Police Department released the identity of a woman set on fire on a New York subway car as "Amelia Carter" as of December 24, 2024? No, that's not true: An agency spokesperson told Lead Stories that as of this writing, the "identification of the victim is pending." Police have, however, charged a suspect named "Sebastian Zapeta".…

Did President Joe Biden cut short an expected Christmas stay in Delaware on December 19, 2024, to return to Washington? No, that's not true: According to an official White House news release dated December 15, 2024, Biden was scheduled to return to the White House on December 19, 2024. The schedule also showed that he and the first lady planned…

Did the Biden administration spend $3 billion to procure just 93 electric mail trucks? No, that's not true: A Postal Service spokesperson told Lead Stories that Congress approved $3 billion to purchase 66,000 electric postal delivery vehicles, many of them arriving by 2028. According to USPS records, as of December 13, 2024, 24 electric vehicles had been delivered with another…

Does a photo show a young Hunter Biden, injured from a car wreck, as his father Joe Biden was sworn in as U.S. senator from Delaware in 1973? No, that's not true: Although Hunter Biden was present at the swearing-in ceremony, the child in the photo is his older brother, Beau Biden. Both of Biden's sons had sustained injuries in…

Did President Joe Biden unilaterally release a Chinese spy convicted of possessing child pornography? No, that's not true: A White House spokesperson told Lead Stories a Chinese doctoral student sentenced to 8 years in federal prison in 2022 was granted clemency and deported on November 22, 2024, as part of a prisoner swap between the United States and China. Three…

Does an authentic video show Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell in December 2024 with a large white bandage around his head, standing mute at a lectern, when a woman asks if his head is "OK after that fall"? No, that's not true: An old video clip showing the moment McConnell froze up in 2023 has been edited. A large bandage…

Does President Joe Biden have the power to pardon Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson? No, that's not true: As of this writing, Mangione was jailed on state charges in Pennsylvania and was charged with murder by New York. The Constitution allows presidents to grant pardons only for federal crimes. The claim originated in…

Did Fox host and former prosecutor Jeanine Pirro criticize President-elect Donald Trump over pardons? No, that's not true: An authentic video of Pirro was included in a social media post with photographs of Trump. In reality, Pirro was criticizing President Joe Biden for pardoning his son, Hunter Biden. The claim appeared in a post and video on Threads on December…

Did Presidents Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush pardon family members? No, that's not true: Neither former president pardoned a member of his family. While Carter's brother Billy and Bush's son Neil were involved in controversies during their relatives' presidencies, neither needed a pardon because they weren't charged with crimes. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Threads…