- California Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi tweeted that former President Donald Trump must prove he is innocent – the complete opposite of the American legal system, which assumes defendants are innocent until proven guilty.
- Pelosi, however, wrongly claimed that “everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence” and that the justice system gives Trump that right.
- Pelosi made the statement on Twitter and was shut down by Twitter’s fact-checking system Community Notes. It reminded the former Speaker:
- “Ms. Pelosi mistakenly says that Trump can prove his innocence at trial. Law in the US assumes the innocence of a defendant and the prosecution must prove guilt for a conviction. A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is assumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty.
The Grand Jury has acted upon the facts and the law.
No one is above the law, and everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence.
Hopefully, the former President will peacefully respect the system, which grants him that right.
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) March 31, 2023
