By: Ranjini K
August 9 2022
False: The U.S. Supreme Court has signed a verdict to impeach U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
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Fact-Check
The Verdict False
The U.S. Constitution gives sole power of impeachment to the House of Representatives. The Supreme Court cannot impeach public officials.
Claim ID 33a98d1c
Context:
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in her latest tour visited Asian countries such as Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, and Taiwan. Social media was flooded with false and misleading claims about the Speaker and her visit. Teatro El Shadday posted one video titled "Supreme Court FINALLY signs VERDICT to IMPEACH Speaker Pelosi 𝐚𝐬 Hunter's Laptop IMPLICATES her." It is a 10-minute long video that has several House representatives criticizing Pelosi.
In fact:
The viral video does not include any statements made by Republican members of the Senate or House of Representatives on Speaker Nancy Pelosi being impeached by the Supreme Court.
According to the Senate website, the U.S. Constitution's Article 1 Section 2 states that the power to impeach is the sole prerogative of the House of Representatives. Only they have the power to choose their Speaker and other officers. The U.S. Supreme Court cannot impeach the Speaker.
Even the Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute states, "The House, through the Judiciary Committee, conducts an investigation and gathers evidence. At the proper time, the House assembles the evidence into individual indictments or charges known as Articles of Impeachment. Each article requires a majority vote of the House to pass to the Senate. Once impeached, the officer is on trial."
Further, the U.S. Supreme Court does not contain any information that it has passed impeachment orders against Nancy Pelosi.
The verdict:
The U.S. Supreme Court does not have power for impeachment, and only the House of Representatives has the authority for impeachment trials. Hence, we mark the claim false.