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:
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Lauren Boebert filed articles of impeachment against Biden. That doesn’t mean he was impeached
CLAIM: President Joe Biden was impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors in June 2023.
THE FACTS: Biden has not been impeached. The House voted last month to send articles of impeachment introduced by Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert to its Judiciary Committee and its Homeland Security Committee for review. Articles of impeachment, issued solely in the House, detail the charges against an elected official, but impeachment only occurs if the articles are approved by the chambers’ members. Some on social media are misrepresenting the House’s June vote to send the articles of impeachment to the committees, falsely suggesting it means Biden has already been impeached. One Instagram post features a Forbes video of Boebert introducing the articles to the House on June 20. A chyron on the video reads: “Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) introduces articles of impeachment against President Biden on House.” Despite the inclusion of real House footage with an accurate chyron, the post, which had received more than 94,700 likes by Friday, claims: “Biden is Impeached!!! Finally! For High Crimes and Misdemeanors.” But the introduction of the articles of impeachment, which accuse Biden of “high crimes and misdemeanors” related to his handling of the U.S. border with Mexico, are only the first step in the impeachment process. The constitutional equivalent of an indictment, they detail charges against an elected official. Impeachment occurs if the House approves the articles. If approved, the Senate then votes whether to acquit or convict the official. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, also a Republican, negotiated a deal with Boebert to send her articles of impeachment for review by the two House committees after she used a House rule called a privileged resolution in an attempt to force a snap vote, the AP has reported. A related resolution introduced by Republican Rep. Chip Roy on June 21 referred Boebert’s articles of impeachment for possible consideration by the aforementioned congressional committees, like any other bill. The House voted 219-208 along party lines the next day on this resolution. Neither committee is under any obligation to take further action on Boebert’s articles of impeachment.
— Associated Press writer Melissa Goldin in New York contribute this report.
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No, Ron DeSantis’ high school yearbook quote does not mention ‘Sir-Mixes-a-Lot’