Claim of Pam Bondi pledging Nancy Pelosi probe is stolen satire | Fact check

The claim: Pam Bondi posted on X promising to investigate Nancy Pelosi

A Nov. 25 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows an X post about California Rep. Nancy Pelosi purportedly shared by Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for U.S. attorney general.

"Nancy Pelosi's salary is $175k yet she has a net worth of $200 million+," the supposed post from Bondi reads. "I will investigate and prosecute to the fullest extent of the law."

The Facebook post's caption reads, "And #DrainTheSwamp."

A TikTok video with the same claim was shared more than 400 times in two days.

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Our rating: False

Bondi didn't post this. There's no record of the post on her X profile. The post was shared by a satirical X account whose "parody" label is omitted in the Facebook post.

Post was shared by parody X account, not Bondi

Trump picked Bondi to be the next U.S. attorney general after former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz removed himself from consideration for the role. Bondi, a former Florida attorney general, represented Trump in his first impeachment trial and supported his presidential campaign.

But Bondi did not share the X post about investigating Pelosi, the former House speaker. The post doesn't appear on her X profile, and there are no credible media reports about Bondi promising an investigation into Pelosi's finances.

The post shown on Facebook was shared by a satirical X account impersonating Bondi on Nov. 24. The account, @PamBondiAG, whose bio labels it as a "parody" not affiliated with Bondi, had at one point been using the profile name "Pam Bondi – U.S Attorney General – Parody," with a missing period in "U.S." The image in the Facebook post shows the X post was shared by @PamBondiAG and includes part of the X account's profile name, "Pam Bondi – U.S Atto...," complete with the missing period in U.S. But it doesn't otherwise identify the claim as parody.

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The Facebook post is an example of what could be called “stolen satire,” in which content originally written and presented as parody is captured and reposted in a way that makes it appear authentic. As a result, readers of the second-generation post are misled, which is what happened here.

The parody X account later changed its profile name to "Not Pam Bondi" and by Nov. 27 had been removed.

Pelosi, who Trump attacked with insults in his final campaign rally of the 2024 election, secured her 20th term in the House on Nov 5. Members of Congress report their assets with a range of values, and Pelosi's 2023 financial disclosure shows assets worth at least $90 million using the low end of those ranges, while the high end would be well above $300 million. Pelosi's husband is Paul Pelosi, a successful investor and developer.

The compensation for most House members is $174,000 per year, according to the Congressional Research Service. The salary for House speaker is $223,500.

USA TODAY reached out to the Facebook user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Our fact-check sources

• X, accessed Nov. 27, @PamBondi

• X, accessed Nov. 27, @PamBondiAG

• Not Pam Bondi, Nov. 24, X post

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pam Bondi post about Nancy Pelosi probe is stolen satire | Fact check