The claim: Freedom of Information requests show phone calls between Ray Epps and Nancy Pelosi's office before the Jan. 6 attack

For almost a year, Ray Epps, a Jan. 6 pro-Trump rallygoer, has been falsely branded by conservative television hosts and Republican politicians as an undercover government agent who helped foment the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Epps was in the nation's capital that day to protest the 2020 election results, but video footage of Epps that weekend has been used by social media influencers to suggest he was working for the FBI, an accusation that has been debunked by the special House Committee investigating the attack.

Nevertheless, some social media users claim new evidence shows House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office and Epps were in contact before the attack.

"BREAKING: Freedom of Information Act requests show a dozen phone calls between the cell phone of Ray Epps and the office of Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the week before Jan. 6," reads a Facebook post shared July 21.

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A recently deleted tweet with the same claim amassed over 15,000 likes. Similar posts have spread widely on Facebook in groups with over 1,000 members.

But there is no evidence such exchanges between Pelosi's office and Epps ever occurred.

Pelosi's spokesperson said the claim is false. And constitutional law experts told USA TODAY that the claim is misleading because Congress is not subject...

Read Full Story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2022/08/18/fact-check-pelosis-o...