Biden's faux rap sheet grows During his voting-rights speech in Atlanta this week, President Biden recalled some heroes of the civil rights movement and remarked, in an aside, "it seems like yesterday the first time I got arrested." It's certainly was not the first time he's said he's been arrested. Previously, he has falsely said he was arrested trying to see Nelson Mandela in South Africa, trying to enter an all-female dorm room at Ohio University and wandering on the Senate floor as a "star-struck kid." So what was this about? It's turns out the president in recent years, on five occasions, has referenced a conversation with his mother during a family discussion in 2008 about whether he should accept Barack Obama's offer to be Obama's running mate. He never quite told the story in the same way, but in essence he claimed she reminded him that when a protests erupted in the late 1950s in a nearby neighborhood when a Black couple bought a home, he was arrested for standing with the family on their porch. But when we investigated, the story did not add up. Twice, Biden actually said the police brought him home to keep him out of trouble. That's not an arrest. Moreover, the protest in the nearby neighborhood — a 15-minute walk from the Biden house — was at the home of the real estate agent who sold the home. The home of the Black couple, which a news report said attracted as many as 300 protesters, was 9 miles away. We could not find any reports of an arrest of a teenager who matched Biden's description. Finally, Biden wrote about the conversation with his mother in one of his memoirs — but leaves out any mention of this incident. The primary source for this story is Biden — and we've learned over the years that he is not always a reliable source. The president earned Four Pinocchios. Please click the link to read our comprehensive report. Enjoy this newsletter? Forward it to someone else who'd like it! If this email was forwarded to you, sign up here. Did you hear something fact-checkable? Send it here; we'll check it out. Your guide to whether state election laws signify a new 'Jim Crow' There's a big debate coming in the Senate next week over legislation that Democrats say will strengthen voting rights. Republicans have said the legislation is unnecessary and tilted to favor Democrats. They have especially pushed back against statements by Democrats that laws passed in GOP-controlled states since the 2020 election are intended to dampen voting by people of color — what Biden has called "Jim Crow on steroids." "There's been a lot of talk about big lies," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Jan. 4, referring to former president Donald Trump's false claim that he lost the presidential election because of fraud. "Well, the 'big lie' on the other side is that state legislatures controlled by Republicans are busily at work trying to make it difficult for people to vote." The Justice Department so far has only filed suit against the laws in Georgia, alleging "racial discriminatory provisions." Although the Justice Department has filed suit over a new Texas law, it has not made a similar race-based claim in that instance. Instead, it has argued that the law improperly restricts assistance that can be given to voters. However, it filed a statement of interest in private litigation against the Texas law that the Justice Department said raises "plausible claims of intentional discrimination." As a reader service, we've combed through the lawsuits and countersuits to identify the key provisions that are under fire in four states — Georgia, Texas, Florida and Montana — and why. Click the link to read our comprehensive report. We're always looking for fact-check suggestions. You can reach us via email, Twitter (@GlennKesslerWP and @AdriUsero) or Facebook. Read about our process and rating scale here, and sign up for the newsletter here. Scroll down for this week's Pinocchio roundup. | 
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