Latest news with #JosephBarron
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Federal judge did not invalidate Joe Biden's preemptive pardons
"BIDEN PARDONS ARE UNCONSTITUTIONAL! 7th Circuit Judge Joseph Barron ruled that there is no provision to pardon someone who hasn't been formally charged, laying the foundation to have the pardons expunged," says a January 28, 2025 Instagram post. The same claim has circulated elsewhere on Instagram, Facebook, Threads, X, TikTok, Tumblr and Gettr. Trump has repeatedly sworn "retribution" on political opponents and those who pursued and were involved in criminal prosecutions against him. Hours before Trump was sworn in as president on January 20, Biden issued a preemptive pardon to his three siblings, along with government officials including retired general Mark Milley, former chief medical advisor Anthony Fauci and lawmakers Liz Cheney and Adam Schiff, members of a congressional committee that investigated the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol. Biden said the pardons "should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that any individual engaged in any wrongdoing," arguing they were to prevent the group from becoming targets of malicious prosecution. The US Constitution gives the president authority to grant pardons to individuals convicted of federal crimes, except in cases of impeachment. Although someone can refuse a presidential pardon, there are very few exceptions to the power (archived here). The Department of Justice's pardon attorney says it is "highly unusual" for a president to pardon an individual before they are indicted or convicted. However, there are several notable examples, such as when president Gerald Ford preemptively pardoned Richard Nixon in 1974 after the Watergate scandal, but before prosecutors filed charges (archived here). Biden's younger brother James, who was included in the pardons, has come under scrutiny for some of his past business dealings and allegations of influence peddling. However, the claim that Biden's pardons have been ruled unconstitutional is false. Some of the posts contain the logo for the website "America's Last Line of Defense" (ALLOD), a network of satirical news websites that contains the disclaimer "nothing on this page is real." Christopher Blair, founder of ALLOD, told AFP many share his posts because they "fit with their confirmation-biased narrative of the world." AFP has reported on dozens of false claims that trace back to Blair's sites. A keyword search reveals one of the sites affiliated with ALLOD has published similar stories about a federal judge named Joseph Barron ruling Biden's pardons unconstitutional, and the organization's Facebook page posted the same graphic the day after Trump's inauguration. There is also no judge by the name Barron serving on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, nor on the Federal bench in the US states of Illinois, Indiana or Wisconsin, over which that appellate court has jurisdiction (archived here and here). Sites associated with ALLOD have repeatedly used the name "Joseph Barron" in fictitious articles. AFP has debunked other claims about US politics here.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge struck down Biden's pardons of Fauci, Cheney, Schiff? No, that's satire
A Jan. 23 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) includes an image showing four people – retired Gen. Mark Milley, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Sen. Adam Schiff and former Rep. Liz Cheney – who were pardoned by former President Joe Biden. 'Breaking News, News Update, BIDEN PARDONS ARE UNCONSTITUTIONAL!' reads text in the image. '7th Circuit Judge Joseph Barron ruled that there is no provision to pardon someone who hasn't been formally charged, laying the foundation to have the pardons expunged.' The Instagram post received more than 80,000 likes in five days. Similar versions of the claim circulated widely on Facebook. More from the Fact-Check Team: How we pick and research claims | Email newsletter | Facebook page The claim originated on a satirical website. There is no judge with that name on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals and no record of any court ruling related to the constitutionality of the pardons. Biden marked the final hours of his presidency with an unprecedented move, issuing blanket preemptive pardons to several of Trump's potential targets, including the four people shown in the Instagram image. While none have been charged with a crime, all were thought to potentially face retribution from Trump during his second term. The Instagram post's claim that a 7th Circuit judge quickly determined those pardons violate the constitution, however, is false. Fact check: Biden used 'end of quote' after citing Eisenhower in farewell address It originated from a Jan. 21 Facebook post by America's Last Line of Defense, which operates a network of satirical websites. Its intro section states that 'nothing on this page is real.' The post includes an image that matches the one shared on Instagram but includes a watermark in the lower-left corner that identifies it as satire. That watermark was cropped out of the version in the Instagram post. The claim itself unravels with a closer look at some of its details. The post attributes the purported ruling to 'Judge Joseph Barron,' but there are no judges on the 7th Circuit court with that name. 'Joe Barron' is a name frequently used in claims stemming from the Facebook account and from articles published by its satirical website, the Dunning-Kruger Times, which states on its 'About Us' page that everything it posts is fiction. Additionally, there is no record of a ruling related to Biden or to the constitutionality of any of the pardons he awarded on the list of opinions and orders issued by the 7th Circuit since Jan. 18. The Instagram post is an example of what could be called "stolen satire," where content originally written and presented as satire is reposted in a way that makes it appear to be legitimate news. As a result, readers of the second-generation post are misled, as was the case here. USA TODAY previously debunked false claims that former presidents Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush pardoned relatives and that an authentic headline says Biden 'exemplifies the gospel' by pardoning his son, Hunter Biden. USA TODAY reached out to several social media users who shared the image but did not immediately receive any responses. America's Last Line of Defense, Jan. 21, Facebook post America's Last Line of Defense, accessed Jan. 28, Facebook profile United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, accessed Jan. 28, Judges' Biographies United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (archive), accessed Jan. 28, Public Access to Opinions and Unpublished Orders Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here. USA TODAY is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, which requires a demonstrated commitment to nonpartisanship, fairness and transparency. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Meta. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Claim that judge struck down Biden's pardons is satire | Fact check
USA Today
28-01-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Judge struck down Biden's pardons of Fauci, Cheney, Schiff? No, that's satire
The claim: Judge ruled Biden's preemptive pardons unconstitutional A Jan. 23 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) includes an image showing four people – retired Gen. Mark Milley, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Sen. Adam Schiff and former Rep. Liz Cheney – who were pardoned by former President Joe Biden. 'Breaking News, News Update, BIDEN PARDONS ARE UNCONSTITUTIONAL!' reads text in the image. '7th Circuit Judge Joseph Barron ruled that there is no provision to pardon someone who hasn't been formally charged, laying the foundation to have the pardons expunged.' The Instagram post received more than 80,000 likes in five days. Similar versions of the claim circulated widely on Facebook. More from the Fact-Check Team: How we pick and research claims | Email newsletter | Facebook page Our rating: False The claim originated on a satirical website. There is no judge with that name on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals and no record of any court ruling related to the constitutionality of the pardons. Claim about Biden's pardons originated on satirical website Biden marked the final hours of his presidency with an unprecedented move, issuing blanket preemptive pardons to several of Trump's potential targets, including the four people shown in the Instagram image. While none have been charged with a crime, all were thought to potentially face retribution from Trump during his second term. The Instagram post's claim that a 7th Circuit judge quickly determined those pardons violate the constitution, however, is false. Fact check: Biden used 'end of quote' after citing Eisenhower in farewell address It originated from a Jan. 21 Facebook post by America's Last Line of Defense, which operates a network of satirical websites. Its intro section states that 'nothing on this page is real.' The post includes an image that matches the one shared on Instagram but includes a watermark in the lower-left corner that identifies it as satire. That watermark was cropped out of the version in the Instagram post. The claim itself unravels with a closer look at some of its details. The post attributes the purported ruling to 'Judge Joseph Barron,' but there are no judges on the 7th Circuit court with that name. 'Joe Barron' is a name frequently used in claims stemming from the Facebook account and from articles published by its satirical website, the Dunning-Kruger Times, which states on its 'About Us' page that everything it posts is fiction. Additionally, there is no record of a ruling related to Biden or to the constitutionality of any of the pardons he awarded on the list of opinions and orders issued by the 7th Circuit since Jan. 18. The Instagram post is an example of what could be called "stolen satire," where content originally written and presented as satire is reposted in a way that makes it appear to be legitimate news. As a result, readers of the second-generation post are misled, as was the case here. USA TODAY previously debunked false claims that former presidents Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush pardoned relatives and that an authentic headline says Biden 'exemplifies the gospel' by pardoning his son, Hunter Biden. USA TODAY reached out to several social media users who shared the image but did not immediately receive any responses. Our fact-check sources Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here. USA TODAY is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, which requires a demonstrated commitment to nonpartisanship, fairness and transparency. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Meta.
