Donald Trump Jr was typically unapologetic after spreading a false rumour on social media that DUI charges against the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had been dropped.
The former first son took to Twitter on Wednesday to wrongly claim that “all charges have reportedly been dropped against Paul Pelosi for his DUI crash”.
“As I was saying!!! It’s just too obvious and predictable these days,” he wrote.
“They don’t have to play by their rules only you do folks. Hope you’re all waking up.”
The post quickly went viral, receiving more than 4600 retweets, and 13,000 ‘likes’ in less than 24 hours.
No credible news organisation reported on the alleged bombshell development, and Mr Trump was forced to backtrack.
On Wednesday night, Trends Journal editor Edmund DeMarche tweeted that the charge against Mr Pelosi is “under review”, a standard procedure when a criminal complaint is passed from police to a district attorney’s office.
“Reports that they were dropped are false,” he added.
An undeterred Mr Trump responded to say it was “just delaying the inevitable”.
“You know it. I know it. Everyone knows it.”
The Independent has contacted Napa County authorities to verify the status of the case.
Mr Pelosi, 82, was arrested and charged with driving under the influence after being involved in a collision on 28 May.
According to the Napa County Criminal Justice Network’s public booking report, he was charged with two misdemeanour offenses; driving under the influence and driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 per cent or higher.
A collision report from the California Highway Patrol stated that Mr Pelosi was crossing SR-29 when his 2021 Porsche was hit by a 2014 Jeep traveling northbound.
No injuries were reported. Speaker Nancy Pelosi was in Rhode Island at the time.
Mr Trump has become a leading purveyor of conspiracy theories and frequently wades into the culture war topic du jour.
