Democrat lobbyist Tony Podesta being arrested by U.S. Marshals in relation to Special Counsel Bob Mueller’s Russia investigation is fake news. There is no truth to a report that Podesta was arrested. However, Podesta, founder of the Podesta Group, announced that he is stepping down from the firm that bears his name after coming under Mueller’s investigation.
Where did the fake news about the arrest originate? Neon Nettle and YourNewsWire posted separate stories that falsely reported Podesta has been arrested in relations to an investigation being conducted by Mueller and is now in the custody of the U.S Marshal Service. You can read the fake news below.
Democrat lobbyist Tony Podesta is in police custody after being arrested last night, with arrest warrants also issued for Hillary Clinton and John Podesta, who are “turning themselves in” on Monday morning.In a shocking turn of events, three key Democrats have been indicted, yet there’s a total mainstream media blackout.
Arrests records confirm that 74-year-old Anthony, founder of the Podesta Group, brother of John Podesta, and a major player in the Pizzagate scandal, was arrested last night.
Just days ago, Tony Podesta stepped down from the Podesta Group after probing conducted under the authority of special counsel Robert Mueller led to an investigation by the Justice Department.
Tony is currently in custody with the US Marshals with the Podesta brothers’ lawyers pleading with Mueller to keep the indictments sealed.
The story is false, according to Snopes. As Nov. 7, 2017, there is no evidence that Podesta who is the brother of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign chair, John Podesta, was arrested. He is not named on the list of publicly-filed charges by Mueller’s office and he has not been officially accused of wrongdoing.
Here are some examples of people sharing the fake news on social media.
Tony Podesta Arrested: Arrest Warrants Issued for Hillary Clinton & John Podesta https://t.co/Q76HwiqXCQ pic.twitter.com/IVeju6pJ5y
— Patriot Juliet🇺🇸 (@Voices4Humanity) November 6, 2017
Has she been arrested? Look at this. https://t.co/4TuG7kT2MZ
— Alice Halstead (@alleyhal) November 6, 2017
#BREAKING #Nov5th #TonyPodesta ARRESTED!! Arrest Warrants Issued for #HillaryClinton & #JohnPodesta https://t.co/3O44UpG5DW
— The Rabbit Static (@TheRabbitStatic) November 6, 2017
In the indictment against Paul Manafort and his associate Rick Gates, Podesta Group is not named but is referred to as “Company B”, according to media reports. Another lobbying firm, Mercury Public Affairs, was identified in the indictment as “Company A.”
Manafort and Gates hired both companies to lobby on behalf of Ukraine’s ousted pro-Kremlin president Viktor Yanukovych and his political party, paying them millions from accounts held offshore:
At the direction of MANAFORT and GATES, Company A and Company B engaged in extensive lobbying. Among other things, they lobbied multiple Members of Congress and their staffs about Ukraine sanctions, the validity of Ukraine elections, and the propriety of Yanukovych’s imprisoning his presidential rival, Yulia Tymoshenko (who had served as Ukraine President prior to Yanukovych).
Most of the sites publishing the fake news point to a link on a site named SearchQuarry as the ‘evidence’ for the secret arrest. However, Hoax Alert reported that the link proves nothing. Rather, it is a landing page where SearchQuarry tries to sell people a membership fee in order to do a real lookup.
RationalWiki described YourNewsWire as:
YourNewsWire (styled as YourNewsWire.com[1]) is an Los Angeles-based clickbait fake news website known for disseminating conspiracy theories and misleading information, contrary to its claimed motto (“News. Truth. Unfiltered”).[1]
What did you think of the fake news that Podesta was arrested as part of Mueller’s investigation? Did you believe it or see people sharing it falsely on social media? Let us know in the comments section.
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