Jeanine Pirro said Hunter Biden, not Donald Trump is ‘above the law’ | Fact check

The claim: Jeanine Pirro said Trump is a ‘classic example of someone who’s above the law’

A Dec. 2 Threads post (direct link, archive link) includes a video with a split screen showing Fox News host Jeanine Pirro speaking alongside photos of President-elect Donald Trump.

“A classic example of someone who’s above the law,” Pirro says in part. “Most of the pardons that we hear about are pardons where someone has served their time, they paid their debt to society and they’re going to end up, you know, getting it removed. It’s an impediment going forward.”

The post’s caption reads, “damn judge jeanine (sic) went hard as hell on Trump.”

It was shared more than 250 times in a week.

More from the Fact-Check Team: How we pick and research claims | Email newsletter | Facebook page

Our rating: False

The full, original version of Pirro’s remarks show she was referring to Hunter Biden, not Trump. The Threads video was edited to replace photos of Biden with photos of Trump.

Pirro, Fox News posted unedited clips online

The claim came a day after President Joe Biden pardoned his son, Hunter, in his final weeks in office despite previously saying he would not do so. Hunter Biden was convicted of federal gun felonies in June and pleaded guilty to federal tax charges in September.

Trump was convicted of 34 felony charges in his New York hush money trial in May. His November sentencing date was canceled after he was elected to a second term on Nov. 5, and Trump has argued the convictions should be tossed out in light of his victory.

But the Threads video doesn’t show Pirro saying Trump is “above the law.”

Fox News’ version of the clip, which was taken from its show “The Five,” shows Pirro responding to Joe Biden’s pardon for his son while photos of both of them are shown on screen.

Pirro also posted the unedited clip to her Instagram account. It makes clear her comment about being “above the law” was in reference to Hunter Biden, not Trump. She states “Hunter Biden is a classic example of someone who is above the law.” The version shared on Threads cuts off the beginning of her remark and replaces the photos of the Bidens with those of Trump to make it appear as if Pirro is speaking about Trump.

Fact check: False claim Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush pardoned family members

USA TODAY previously debunked false assertions that Vice President Kamala Harris called Joe Biden “unstable,” that former Vice President Mike Pence endorsed Harris for President and that Florida Sen. Marco Rubio admitted the Trump presidency would rely heavily on Project 2025.

The Threads user who posted the claim told USA TODAY they edited the clip to add photos of Trump in order to “point out the hypocrisy of what she was saying.”

Lead Stories also debunked the claim.

Our fact-check sources

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here.

USA TODAY is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, which requires a demonstrated commitment to nonpartisanship, fairness and transparency. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Meta.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jeanine Pirro said Hunter Biden is ‘above the law’ | Fact check