A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out. Here are the facts:
Posts misrepresent old Biden clip as related to Trump case
CLAIM: A video shows President Joe Biden essentially confirming that his team coordinated the indictment of former President Donald Trump to “stop Trump from taking power again.”
THE FACTS: The video dates to November 2022 and shows Biden answering a question about how to reassure world leaders that Trump would not return to power. Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, in a process that did not involve the Biden administration and that wouldn’t prevent Trump from running for or winning the presidency in 2024. “Biden all but confirmed that his team is coordinating these Trump indictments to ‘stop Trump from taking power again,’” reads one Twitter post with the clip that has racked up more than 17,000 retweets. But White House transcripts and original video of the Nov. 9, 2022, event show Biden was answering a reporter’s question about how he would respond to world leaders concerned about Trump and his political movement returning to power. “Well, we just have to demonstrate that he will not take power by — if we — if he does run,” Biden replied. “I’m making sure he, under legitimate efforts of our Constitution, does not become the next President again.” The investigation into hush money payments made on behalf of Trump during his presidential campaign was conducted by the Manhattan district attorney’s office, which does not take orders from the White House. A grand jury voted to indict the former president in March. The district attorney convened the grand jury in January 2023, months after Biden gave these remarks. Trump was booked and arraigned on Tuesday. Even if he were ultimately convicted, he would not be barred from running for the White House in 2024, or winning the presidency. The White House has declined to comment on the indictment.
— Associated Press writer Ali Swenson in New York contributed this report.
Manhattan DA Bragg not prosecuting parking attendant over shooting
CLAIM: Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is charging a New York City parking garage attendant for attempted murder after he shot an alleged armed robber.