Did the Fraternal Order of Police rescind its endorsement of President Donald Trump in response to the sweeping January 6 pardons he gave after his 2025 swearing-in? No, that's not true: The Fraternal Order of Police issued a letter that criticized pardons by both Trump and former President Joe Biden of people convicted of violence against law enforcement officers, but…
Does a video show President Donald Trump saying "I don't care" about the economy in an interview with Fox News? No, that's not true: Trump's response of "I don't care" to Sean Hannity was not about the economy, he was saying it didn't matter to him that the TV host was running out of time and wanted to change the…
Did President Joe Biden pardon Michael Byrd, the U.S. Capitol Police officer who allegedly killed Ashli Babbitt during the January 6, 2021, protest? No, that's not true: None of the pardons he issued mentioned Byrd directly. Also, the blanket pardon Biden signed for police officers from the Capitol Police who testified before the January 6 Select Committee didn't cover Byrd…
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 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…
Does a video of Sen. Ted Cruz questioning current FBI Director Christopher Wray or former FBI Acting Director Andrew McCabe expose either man in a lie about the circumstances surrounding the August 8, 2022, search of Mar-a-Lago, the Florida home of former President Donald Trump? No, that's not true: The video of Cruz is spliced together from separate congressional hearings…
Does a video posted on Facebook prove that former President Donald Trump is still commander in chief? No, that's not true: Although the video makes the claim in its headline, nothing in the video substantiates the claim. The claim appeared in a Facebook Live video (archived here) recorded on August 1, 2021. The title of the video reads: PROOF TRUMP…
Did Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida suggest that people associated with the January 6 incident at the U.S. Capitol should be pardoned? No, that's not true: The tweet saying this did not come from his actual Twitter account, and the fake account has since been suspended. The claim appeared in an Instagram post (archived here) published on July 6,…
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