The Associated Press reported “prosecutors are reconsidering bringing charges against former President Donald J. Trump on child rape and molestation charges.”
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AP didn’t report prosecutors are reconsidering rape, child molestation charges against Trump
Purported "breaking news" attributed to The Associated Press is spreading on social media, but as some users soon discovered, an actual source for the scoop was elusive.
"BREAKING NEWS," a July 7 Threads post said. "Prosecutors are reconsidering bringing charges against former President Donald J. Trump on child rape and molestation charges. - AP News."
"Do you have a link?" one account responded.
"I haven’t seen anything about this," someone else said. "Please include a source."
"I don’t see it on their site yet," a third added.
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But that’s because nothing on The Associated Press’ website reports this.
This Threads 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.)
We looked for but found no such reporting on the wire service’s website as the Threads post claims.
Lauren Easton, an AP spokesperson, told PolitiFact "The Associated Press did not report this."
Featured Fact-check
Former President Donald Trump was mentioned in court documents unsealed in January that related to the late, disgraced financier and convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, but Trump wasn’t accused of wrongdoing.
Trump’s name appeared in a document in which Epstein is quoted as saying he’d invite Trump to join him at a casino, USA Today reported. Trump also appeared in another document in which a witness said she was never asked to engage in sexual relations with Trump.
In June, during an interview on Fox News’ "Fox & Friends," co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy asked Trump whether he would declassify documents related to Epstein. He initially said yes, New York magazine reported, and then hedged.
"You don’t want to affect people’s lives if it’s phony stuff in there, because it’s a lot of phony stuff with that whole world," Trump said.
We rate claims The Associated Press reported prosecutors are reconsidering rape and child molestation charges against Trump False.
Our Sources
Threads post, July 7, 2024
X post, July 7, 2024
X post, July 7, 2024
Email interview with Lauren Easton, vice president of corporate communications, The Associated Press, July 8, 2024
USA Today, Clinton and Trump are named in Jeffrey Epstein documents; no wrongdoing alleged, Jan. 3, 2024
New York, What the Jeffrey Epstein Documents Reveal About Donald Trump, July 3, 2024
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AP didn’t report prosecutors are reconsidering rape, child molestation charges against Trump
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