A post shared on Facebook claims U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps investigators have purportedly arrested Senior U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia Judge Beryl Howell for treason.
Verdict: False
The claim is false and originally stems from a March 30 article published on the satire site “Real Raw News.” In addition, a Navy JAG Corps spokesperson denied the claim’s validity in an email to Check Your Fact.
Fact Check:
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently filed a motion to remove Howell from overseeing a lawsuit brought by the firm Perkins Coie, according to Politico. Perkins Coie is fighting sanctions imposed by the Trump administration, the Financial Times reported.
The Facebook post claims Navy JAG Corps investigators have purportedly arrested Howell for treason. The same post claims that although the Navy JAG Corps investigators did not find a link between suspicious payments and decisions made by Howell, they still felt they had “probable cause” to “detain” Howell for purportedly accepting “Deep State cash.”
The claim is false and originally stems from a March 30 article published on the satire site, “Real Raw News.” A “Disclaimer” included on the site’s “About Us” page indicates its content is not meant to be taken literally. “Information on this website is for informational and educational and entertainment purposes. This website contains humor, parody, and satire. We have included this disclaimer for our protection, on the advice [of] legal counsel,” the disclaimer reads.
Likewise, Check Your Fact did not find the claim referenced on the U.S. Navy’s website or the U.S. Navy JAG Corps’ associated social media accounts. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has not mentioned the claim. President Donald Trump has not publicly commented on the claim, either.
In addition, Check Your Fact found no credible news reports to support the claim. If the U.S. Navy JAG Corps had actually arrested Howell for treason, multiple media outlets would’ve covered it, yet none have. (RELATED: Contrary To Claim, Tesla Not Involved In Road Rage Incident)
Furthermore, Patricia Babb, a spokesperson for the U.S. Navy JAG Corps, denied the claim’s validity in an email to Check Your Fact.
“This is not true,” Babb said of the claim.
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