We answer some questions about the events leading up to the criminal indictment of former President Donald Trump.
Q&A on Grand Jury Indictment of Trump in New York
Person: Donald Trump
What to Know About Trump-Era Bank Deregulation and Bank Failures
With the recent failure of two midsize banks, some Democrats have blamed deregulation championed by then-President Donald Trump in 2018. While the law did reduce oversight of small and midsize banks, experts are divided over whether deregulation in 2018 ultimately caused Signature and Silicon Valley Bank to collapse.
Post Distorts History of Presidential Efforts to Fight Child Sex Trafficking
Efforts to stop child sex trafficking in the U.S. have been underway for decades, led by presidents including Joe Biden. But an Instagram post makes the false claims that former President Donald Trump was the first to “acknowledge that children are being sold for sex in the U.S.” and that Biden “rescinded” a Trump order addressing the problem.
NTSB Chair Contradicts Posts That Wrongly Claim Trump to Blame for Ohio Train Wreck
The National Transportation Safety Board’s chair said an Obama-era rule the Trump administration nixed would not have prevented the derailment of a train in Ohio, as some partisan commentators inaccurately claim. The rule requiring a new electronic braking system for certain trains carrying hazardous cargo did not apply to that train.
Multiple Federal Agencies Supporting East Palestine, Contrary to Partisan Claims
The people affected by the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, do not qualify for direct financial aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. But FEMA and other federal agencies have been assisting since the accident there in early February. Social media posts have misleadingly claimed that the federal government has denied aid.
Posts Distort Soros’ Comments on a DeSantis Candidacy
Billionaire George Soros said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis “is likely to be the Republican candidate” in the 2024 presidential race. But social media posts edited Soros’ remarks to falsely claim he endorsed the governor. Soros’ full remarks show that he does not support DeSantis for president and that he hopes for “a Democratic landslide.”
Trump’s False Claim About Defense ‘Deal’ with South Korea
Former President Donald Trump, who has regularly complained about the amount of money South Korea pays the U.S. to maintain American military bases there, falsely claimed this week that he “had a deal [with South Korea] for full payment to us, $Billions, and Biden gave it away.”
Trump’s Dubious Claim About ‘Hidden’ Tweets Exonerating Him for Jan. 6 Capitol Attack
Former President Donald Trump says two Jan. 6, 2021, tweets that the “highly partisan January 6th Committee” tried to hide have now been “fully restored” by Twitter and “fully exonerate me.” But the posts are included, and discussed at length, in the committee’s final report.
Trump’s Hollow ‘Empty Folders’ Defense
Former President Donald Trump’s latest defense for having classified documents found by FBI agents at his Mar-a-Lago home is that many of them were simply “empty folders” stamped “classified” on the outside that Trump kept as mementos. The FBI says it did find dozens of empty folders, but it also found 103 classified documents.
McCarthy Distorts Facts About DOJ Search of Mar-a-Lago
In questioning why the FBI “raid[ed] President Trump,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy falsely claimed that government officials “could have come and taken” classified government documents stored at Donald Trump’s private club and residence in Florida “any time they wanted.”