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Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wasn’t found guilty of treason
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- U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi wasn’t found guilty of treason.
Describing something in a social media post as the "latest news" does not magically make it so. Giving the event a false date does not bolster the case.
"LATEST NEWS PELOSI IS GUILTY OF TREASON," reads a May 6 Facebook post. "Jim Jordan just ended Nancy Pelosi’s career."
It includes an approximately seven-minute video of a press conference labeled with the date Jan. 30, 2023.
Above the video, text reads: "Pelosi is guilty of treason — Jim Jordan just ended Nancy Pelosi’s career."
This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
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But that press conference happened in July 2021, and the lawmakers there, including U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, didn’t declare then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., guilty of treason. She has not been convicted of the crime.
Rather, the press conference was held to criticize Pelosi and the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
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The U.S. Constitution describes treason as a crime in which someone "owing allegiance to the United States levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or somewhere else."
Such cases are rare in the United States, and Pelosi is not accused in one. Only about 30 people have ever been charged with treason in the United States, former Vice President Aaron Burr famously among them.
We rate this post False.
Our Sources
Facebook post, May 6, 2023
C-SPAN, House Republican Leadership on January 6 Select Committee, July 27, 2021
Cornell Law School, 18 U.S. Code § 2381 - Treason, visited May 8, 2023
CBS News, What is treason and who can be convicted of it?, Sept. 30, 2019
National Constitution Center, Does the Treason Clause Still Matter? (Yes.), visited May 8, 2023
The Washington Post, A former vice president was tried for treason for an insurrection plot, Sept. 26, 2022
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Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wasn’t found guilty of treason
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