A viral video shared on Threads purports to show Judge Jeanine Pirro criticizing President-elect Donald Trump over pardons on the Fox News program, “The Five.”
Verdict: False
The original video indicates Pirro is not discussing Trump but instead is speaking about President Joe Biden’s recent decision to pardon his son, Hunter Biden. In addition, a spokesperson for Fox News denied the claim’s validity in an email to Check Your Fact.
Fact Check:
Following his recent pardon of his son, Hunter, President Biden is considering preemptive pardons of potential Trump targets, including Gen. Mark Milley, according to ABC News. The Biden administration is “conducting a vigorous internal debate” over the potential pardons ahead of Trump’s second term, Politico reported.
The video, which has received over 2,000 likes as of writing, purports to show Pirro criticizing Trump over pardons on the Fox News program, “The Five.”
“[This] is a classic example of someone who is above the law because he was never even sentenced. Most of the pardons that we hear about are pardons where someone has served their time, they paid their debt to society, and they’re going to end up, you know, getting it removed,” Pirro says.
“It’s an impediment going forward. Not this case. We won’t even know what he’s being, what his sentence would have been. And then for him to call out the media and select a prosecution is absurd. A jury found him guilty. Are you saying that you don’t believe in the jury system anymore, Mr. President?” she adds.
Multiple photos of Trump flash across the screen as Pirro is speaking.
The claim is false, however. The original video of the segment, which has been uploaded to YouTube, indicates Pirro is not discussing Trump but instead is speaking about Biden and his recent decision to pardon his son, Hunter Biden. Pirro begins speaking at the video’s 2:28-minute mark.
Likewise, photos of the elder Biden and his son, not Trump, flash across the screen during the original segment, which shows that the viral Threads video has been digitally edited.
In addition, neither Pirro nor the White House appears to have publicly commented on the claim made via the viral Threads video. Trump has not referenced the claim on his official website or his TRUTH Social account, either.
Check Your Fact also found no credible news reports to support the claim. Actually, the opposite is true. On Dec. 4, Lead Stories debunked the claim. (RELATED: Did Joe Biden Smile At A Question About Pardoning Hunter?)
Furthermore, a Fox News spokesperson denied the claim’s validity in an email to Check Your Fact.
“This video is not real,” the spokesperson said, later adding, “This video did not air on [the] Fox News Channel.”