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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Can Trump Fire Mueller?

Can Trump Fire Mueller?

Q: Can President Donald Trump fire special counsel Robert Mueller?

A: Not directly. Only the deputy attorney general who appointed Mueller can fire him and only for cause. But Trump could fire the DAG, or order the special-counsel regulations repealed and fire Mueller himself.

Preexisting Condition Spin

Preexisting Condition Spin

Opponents of the Republican House health care bill are claiming its provisions on preexisting conditions reach further than they actually do.

Schumer Didn’t Resign, Sessions Wasn’t Fired

Schumer Didn’t Resign, Sessions Wasn’t Fired

Q: Did Sen. Chuck Schumer resign? Was Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired? Are the Clintons divorcing? Is Monica Lewinsky dead?

A: No. Each claim was made by the same website that writes “fiction as fact.”

Fake Spicer Quote About ‘Covfefe’

Fake Spicer Quote About ‘Covfefe’

Q: Did White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer say that the president has the “legal right and power to decide how words in the English language are spelled”?

A: No. That bogus quote comes from a “satirical” article about President Donald Trump’s infamous “covfefe” tweet.

Will Paris Have a ‘Tiny’ Effect on Warming?

Will Paris Have a ‘Tiny’ Effect on Warming?

President Donald Trump and his top environmental official said the Paris Agreement would reduce the global average temperature by only 0.2 degrees Celsius. Former Vice President Al Gore said that’s “not true.” Who’s right?

Clinton Foundation Not Shutting Down

Clinton Foundation Not Shutting Down

Q: Was the Clinton Foundation ordered to cease operations and Chelsea Clinton charged with fraud?

A: No. Those baseless claims were made up by a self-described “satirical” website.

Mailbag: The Comey Hearing

This week, readers sent us comments about former FBI Director James Comey, who testified before the Senate intelligence committee about private conversations he had with President Donald Trump regarding the agency’s Russia investigation.

Trump’s Coal Spin

Trump’s Coal Spin

President Donald Trump touted the opening of a new coal mine in Pennsylvania as evidence that his administration is “putting the miners back to work.” But construction of the mine in question began before the 2016 election. And experts say it’s not evidence of a resurgence in coal mining.

John McCain Still a Republican

John McCain Still a Republican

Q: Has Sen. John McCain “renounced any affiliation with the Republican Party”?

A: No. That claim was made in a fake news story published by a “satirical publication.”

No Obama Statue in the White House

No Obama Statue in the White House

Q: Did President Barack Obama commission a life-size bronze statue of himself to leave in the White House?

A: No. That fake news story was “intended for entertainment purposes only.”