Fact check: No, video doesn't show Kennedy threatening to impeach Homeland Security secretary

Hannah Hudnall, USA TODAY
·3 min read
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The claim: Video shows Sen. John Kennedy telling the Homeland Security secretary he will be impeached

More than a dozen congressional allies of former President Donald Trump have called for impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. These Republican lawmakers and others say Mayorkas has failed to protect the southern border.

Now, social media users are sharing a video they claim shows Sen. John Kennedy threatening Mayorkas with impeachment.

A video shared on Facebook shows the Louisiana Republican questioning Mayorkas at a hearing.

"'YOU WILL BE IMPEACHED' Mayorkas PANICS as Kenendy (sic) EXPOSES 'true number' at border,'" reads the text accompanying the video in the Dec. 10 post.

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The post garnered more than 100,000 views in six days. Similar versions have been shared on Facebook.

But the claim is false. The video is from a 2021 Senate hearing, and Mayorkas was questioned about immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border. Kennedy did not mention impeachment.

USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the post for comment.

Video is from a 2021 Senate hearing

The clip is from a Nov. 16, 2021, Homeland Security Department oversight hearing, during which senators asked Mayorkas about immigration and the border.

Though Kennedy asks Mayorkas about his border policies in the clip, which is almost 12 minutes long, the senator never brings up impeachment. Kennedy also does not reference any "true" number of immigrants at the border, as the Facebook post claims.

Kennedy's office issued a press release about the questions the senator asked Mayorkas, and there is nothing in the release about impeachment.

Fact check: False claim video shows Sen. John Kennedy presenting evidence of '2020 fraud'

Presenting an authentic video but misrepresenting what happens in it is called "false framing," Mike Caulfield, a research scientist at the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public, previously told USA TODAY. Many people who visit a "false framing" post are misled because they view the video with the sound off and trust that the description and caption are accurate.

USA TODAY has previously debunked other "false framing" claims, including baseless assertions that videos show House Speaker Nancy Pelosi crying after being confronted by Sen. Chuck Grassley or Rep. Elise Stefanik laughing at Rep. Liz Cheney.

This claim has been debunked by PolitiFact and Check Your Fact as well.

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that a video shows Kennedy telling the Homeland Security Secretary he will be impeached. The video is from a 2021 Senate hearing, and at the time, Kennedy asked Mayorkas about immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border. Kennedy did not mention impeachment.

Our fact-check sources:

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: No, video doesn't show discussion of Mayorka's impeachment