The Trump supporter who became a Trump conspiracy The story of Ray Epps is a depressing chronicle of our times. Epps is a Trump supporter from Arizona who joined the crowd at the Capitol on Jan. 6 — and now is at the center of a baseless conspiracy theory promoted by lawmakers and the former president. This conspiracy theory follows a familiar path. Self-proclaimed Internet sleuths, seeking to prove the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol was the work of federal agents, latch onto "clues." Partisan players weave the clues into misleading narratives. Then Fox News hosts such as Tucker Carlson elevate these claims, over and over. That catches the attention of lawmakers eager to win favor with the Trump base. Idle speculation becomes embraced as established fact. Few of these actors feel compelled to do the basics of journalism and ask questions to try to explain what appears to be a mystery. Epps's attorney is remarkably easy to reach — he immediately picks up the phone. Experts on FBI procedure can be found as well. In our article, we take readers through a tour of the evidence, accompanied by video clips of Epps on Jan. 5 and Jan. 6 that have been twisted into conspiracy. There is no evidence that Epps is a federal agent or informant. The available video evidence shows he was part of the crowd at the Capitol on Jan. 6 — a place where the day before he had said he would go — but no videos have emerged showing that he committed or urged acts of violence. He does not appear to have entered the Capitol building itself. Please read our full report. 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. Fact-checking President Biden's second formal news conference President Biden does not speak to the media often in formal settings, but his nearly two-hours news conference Wednesday appeared to be an effort to make up for lost time. President Biden made some incorrect statements or made claims that lacked important context, so we offered a roundup of the statements that caught our attention. For instance: "We created 6 million new jobs, more jobs in one year than any time before. Unemployment dropped. The unemployment rate dropped to 3.9 percent." Biden is engaging in a practice perfected by former president Donald Trump — offering numbers without context. The United States is emerging from a pandemic that caused huge job losses in 2020 — 9 million jobs, in fact. "That's why 17 Nobel Prize winners for economics say it will ease long-term inflationary pressure. The bottom line, if price increases are what you're worried about, the best answer is my Build Back Better plan." Biden twice referred to a letter signed by 17 Nobel Prize-winning economists, claiming that his spending plan would reduce inflation over time. The letter was released in September, but Biden's plan has shrunk significantly since then. Moreover, the tax changes lauded in the letter — higher taxes on the wealthy and corporations — have been largely dropped. In November, we asked the signers if their minds had changed, and some indicated that the proposed changes have lessened the potential impact on inflationary pressures. 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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