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Many people say Pelosi diverts $2.4 billion from social security to cover impeachment costs. So is that right? Let’s see what factcheck.org says on this matter?
A report that went viral shortly after the Senate acquitted former President Donald Trump for a second time claimed that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, syphoned billions of dollars from Social Security insurance to finance the costs of impeachment proceedings.
The Facebook post dated February 14 appears to be a screenshot of a bogus fact check article with the headline “FACT CHECK: Yes, Nancy Pelosi Moved Billions from SSI to Cover Impeachment Costs.” The post has received over 500 shares.
The captured image bears the date of January 21 and shows Representative Pelosi interacting with members of the press. The following was written as the caption for the post by the user: “This Money Belongs to US, the Working, Retired, and Disabled American Citizens!! WHO IS GOING TO MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN RIGHT NOW!! How are we going to get things done!!
In an effort to obtain commentary, USA TODAY attempted to contact the user.
The claim was initially written as a parody
The content that was featured in the post was taken from a story that was originally published on Freedom Fictions in January of 2020. Freedom Fictions is a satirical fact-checking news site that is owned and operated by America’s Last Line of Defense.
According to the information provided on its website, America’s Last Line of Defense is a satirical network that distributes stories that are completely made up.
Everything you read on this page is completely made up. Because it is not true, it cannot be classified as either a lie or as false news. The “About Us” page of Freedom Fictions contains the following warning: “If you believe that it is genuine, you should have your head examined.” “Any resemblance between this site’s pure fiction and genuine individuals, locations, and events are totally coincidental, and you should regard all of the photos on this site to be changed and satirical. If you are still having trouble understanding that which is satirical, please see the explanation given above.
Pelosi “would not be able to carry off such a stupid act,” according to the extended version of the satirical piece, which also claims that $2.4 billion was “randomly constructed to sound enormous.” The narrative continues, “we at Freedom Fictions rate this tale true because we are also part of the America’s Last Line of Defense network, and honestly, if this is in the article, and you still can’t tell it’s satire, you need a kick in the balls.” (We at Freedom Fictions rate this tale true because we are also part of the America’s Last Line of Defense network.)
The website Freedom Fictions features an eye-catching title that reads, “Fake News Fact-checkers fact-checking fake news,” alongside an equally eye-catching parody warning. The article can be found in the section of the website titled “JUNK NEWS FACT CHECK.”
In a prior interview with USA TODAY, Christopher Blair, the founder of America’s Last Line of Defense, claimed that the publication’s stories have “nothing in common with reality.” Misleading assertions that were initially presented as parody on America’s Last Line of Defense have previously been disproven.
It is not possible for Nancy Pelosi to transfer funds away from Social Security
Alex Lawson, the executive director of Social Security Works, told WUSA9 in 2020 — when the identical allegation went viral during Trump’s first impeachment trial — that it would be difficult for Pelosi to remove money from Social Security coffers. Lawson was speaking about the claim at the time.
‘The law is really clear here that the premiums that we pay into Social Security can only be used for benefits and the administration of the services to provide those benefits,’ he said, adding that Social Security bonds are “meticulously managed” and watched by a board of trustees. ‘The law is really clear here that the premiums that we pay into Social Security can only be used for benefits and the administration of the services to provide those benefits,’ he said.
Even though the bill for compensating House members and staffers adds up, it’s still a “extremely small portion” of the overall federal budget, according to Yahoo! Finance. The legislative costs of impeachment are taken from the funds that are allocated to Congress in order for it to carry out its duties.
In an effort to obtain further comment, USA TODAY reached out to the Social Security Administration.
The verdict from us: false
According to our findings, the assertion that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stole billions of dollars from the Social Security Administration in order to pay for the costs of an impeachment proceeding is FALSE. The assertion originated from an article that makes clear that it is intended to be taken as satire, and the costs of impeachment are paid for through the operations of Congress.
Would you like to see more references that deny Pelosi diverts $2.4 billion from social security to cover impeachment costs? Well here’s are few references which you can check to READ More regarding this story…
- Freedom Fictions, “FACT CHECK : Yes, Nancy Pelosi Moved Billions from SSI to Cover Impeachment Costs“
- America’s Last Line of Defense, About Us
- USA TODAY, Dec. 15, “Fact check: Fake anti-Christmas quote attributed to Kamala Harris began as satire“
- USA TODAY, Aug. 25, 2020, “Fact check: Viral claim about Nancy Pelosi and overseas military voters is false, came from satire site“
- WUSA9, Nov, 18, 2019, “VERIFY: no, Nancy Pelosi did not divert billions from Social Security to fund Trump’s impeachment hearings
- Yahoo! Finance, Jan. 3, 2020, Pelosi to divert Social Security funds for impeachment
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