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  • 2019-02-12 (xsd:date)
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  • Did 'El Chapo' Testify That He Gave Millions to Pelosi, Schiff, and Clinton? (en)
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  • In February 2019, we came across dozens of social media accounts parroting nearly verbatim messages that claimed the drug lord Joaquín El Chapo Guzmán had testified in court that he had given millions of dollars to Democrat politicians, such as Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff, and Hillary Clinton: The claim that El Chapo testified in court that he gave Killary Clinton, Pelosi, and Schiff millions of dollars did not originate with a news report, a courtroom transcript, or from anyone with inside knowledge about this case. This claim appears to have originated with a baseless Facebook post from Shane Vandiver, the bassist and singer for a Texas music group. On 9 February 2019, Vandiver posted the message to his Facebook page: Drug kingpin El Chapo testified that he gave MILLIONS to Pelosi, Schiff & Killary. The Feds then closed the courtroom doors. It was the earliest (and most popular) iteration of this message that we could find. Vandiver's post was not presented with any supporting evidence. He did not include any links to news articles, videos, interviews, or transcripts. His post was also suspiciously void of specifics, such as how much these politicians were paid, what they were paid for, and how these transactions were completed. Still, many social media users took this baseless assertion as fact and spread it to their followers. Within three days of its initial posting, it had racked up nearly 30,000 shares: This claim is not based on any factual information. It was made up in an apparent attempt to stir up controversy and smear Democrat politicians. This rumor is also suspicious for another reason: El Chapo did not testify during his trial. El Chapo was extradited to the United States in January 2017 to face a litany of criminal charges, including money laundering, drug trafficking, firearms violations, operating a criminal enterprise, and conspiring to murder rivals. When his trial officially began more than a year later in November 2018, prosecutors talked to more than 50 witnesses over 11 weeks to lay out their case. El Chapo's defense, on the other hand, involved just one witness, lasted about 30 minutes, and did not feature testimony from the drug kingpin: In other words, El Chapo couldn't have testified that he gave millions of dollars to Clinton, Pelosi and Schiff because El Chapo did not testify during his trial. (en)
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