FACT CHECK: Did Donald Trump Issue This Statement About Flushing January 6 Notes Down The Toilet?

An image shared on Facebook purportedly shows a statement from former President Donald Trump implying he destroyed evidence related to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. 

Verdict: False

The image is fabricated. There is no record of Trump issuing such a statement.

Fact Check:

Members of the U.S. House select committee are currently holding a series of public hearings to investigate “the facts, circumstances and causes relating to the Jan. 6, 2021, domestic terrorist attack,” according to The New York Times. An image shared on Facebook claims Trump recently weighed in on the hearings.

The image shows what appears to be a June 14 statement from Trump expressing contempt for the proceedings while implying that he may have destroyed “notes” that would have shed light on the role he played in the attack. (RELATED: Did Donald Trump Issue A Statement Calling Mike Pence ‘Weak’ For not Overturning The 2020 Election?)

“Liz Cheney, who is not very smart, can waste their time with friends from the radical left looking for meeting notes about January 6th against me, but they will never find them,” reads part of the alleged statement. “Some people say that I flushed those notes down the toilet, but what I ‘may’ have flushed down the toilet is long gone since Biden stole The White House from me.” 

The image is fabricated. No such statement can be found on Trump’s website, where all the former president’s statements are posted. There is likewise no mention of the statement on Trump’s account on Truth Social. Check Your Fact found no credible news reports to corroborate the authenticity of the alleged message. 

The fabricated letter appears to allude to an allegation made by New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman that Trump would flush notes and documents down the toilet when he was president, a violation of the Presidential Records Act, according to Newsweek. Haberman discusses the alleged document destruction in her book “Confidence Man,” the outlet reported.

Check Your Fact has reached out to Trump’s spokesperson for comment and will update this piece accordingly if one is received. 

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