A video claims to show Merrick Garland facing a ‘lying charge.’ That’s not true.

A Facebook post accusing U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland of facing a “lying charge” has its own credibility problems.

“Watch Garland CAN’T SAVE himself from ‘lying’ CHARGE after gives F.AKE number to Kennedy at hearing,” read the caption of a Sept. 20 Facebook post. 

(Screengrab from Instagram)

This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

The video featured in the post is nearly two years old; it was clipped from an Oct. 27, 2021, Justice Department oversight hearing.

It doesn’t show Garland faced a “lying charge.” Two statutes govern perjury when testifying before Congress: U.S. Code 1621 and 1001 of Title 18. 

Section 1621 penalizes anyone who commits general perjury or anyone who “willfully and contrary to such oath states or subscribes any material matter which he does not believe to be true.” Section 1001 penalizes anyone who “knowingly and willfully” makes “materially false” statements to Congress, even if unsworn.

Garland, the nation’s top prosecutor, has not been charged with violating either statute, or any other crime. 

He didn’t give a “fake number,” either; Kennedy and Garland discussed a controversial memorandum Garland issued Oct. 4, 2021, to address “the rise in criminal conduct directed toward school personnel.” Garland didn’t mention a number when Kennedy questioned him.

We rate the claim that a video showed Garland facing a “lying” charge Pants on Fire!