View this email in your browser ([link removed])
An update from FactCheck.org
Photo by Jackyenjoyphotography via Getty Images.


** Trump's Distortions on Cashless Bail
------------------------------------------------------------

As part of his recent crackdown on crime, President Donald Trump says he plans to put an end to cashless bail policies enacted in some cities and states where officials have argued cash bail unfairly punishes those accused of crimes who can’t afford to pay it, leaving them to await trial in jail.

On Aug. 25, Trump signed an executive order that threatens to deny federal funding to local and state governments that offer cashless bail.

FactCheck.org’s deputy director, Rob Farley, zeroed in on two claims the president made days before the executive order was announced that underpin his opposition to the cashless bail policies.

Trump claimed that “every place in the country where you have no cash bail is a disaster.” But we found the balance of crime data doesn’t support the idea that crime has worsened as a result of the policies.

The president also misleadingly claimed that under cashless bail policies, “Somebody murders somebody and they’re out on no cash bail before the day is out.” Some states that require cashless bail have exemptions for violent felonies and murder. And in the states where it is possible for a murder suspect to be freed pending trial without cash bail, per a judge’s discretion, it is exceedingly rare.

Trump has railed against cashless bail for years, and returned to the issue in his Aug. 11 press conference announcing the temporary federal takeover of law enforcement in Washington, D.C, which includes an infusion of National Guard and other federal law enforcement in the nation’s capital.

Trump specifically criticized the policies in New York and Chicago and blamed them for having “started” the crime problems in those areas. But crime statistics don't support that.

In Chicago, for example, year-to-date crime from January to August 2025 dropped 15% compared with the same period in 2023, which was before the law went into effect, according to Chicago Police Department data. Murder is down 37%; robbery is down 36%; aggravated battery is down 5%, and burglary is down 18%.

A September 2024 report from Loyola University of Chicago’s Center for Criminal Justice also found that crime dropped in the first six months after the law went into effect. But that doesn’t necessarily end the issue.

“It’s possible … that crime would have declined further in the absence of” Illinois’ cashless bail policy, the report states. “But it does confirm the unanimous sense of the Illinois practitioners we interviewed, that (as several of them put it) ‘the sky did not fall’ when the [the cashless bail law] went into effect.”

To read more, including our analysis of the data the White House provided to us to back up the president’s claims, see our story, “Trump’s Distortions on Cashless Bail ([link removed]) .”
HOW WE KNOW
The Metropolitan Police Department's "crime cards" website provides preliminary crime data based on when District of Columbia crimes are reported to police. We used that website to fact-check Trump's false claim that an 11-day span of no homicides in Washington, D.C., after a federal takeover of its law enforcement this month was the "first time that's taken place in years." Read more: "D.C. Homicide-Free Streak Not First in ‘Years ([link removed]) .'"
FEATURED FACTS
A "framework" trade agreement between the U.S. and European Union that was announced in an Aug. 21 joint statement says, "European companies are expected to invest an additional $600 billion across strategic sectors" in the U.S. through 2028. But it's a "non-binding commitment to the US on estimated EU investment in the coming years," a European Commission official told us. Read more: "Trump on EU and Japan Investments in the U.S ([link removed]) ."
SOCIAL MEDIA POST OF THE WEEK

During an hourslong Cabinet meeting on Aug. 26, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. once again distorted the facts about autism prevalence. Kennedy cited a 1970 Wisconsin study that used an old definition of autism (as he has before ([link removed]) ) and compared it with a 2022 survey figure about 8-year-old boys in California.

In addition to cherry-picking the figures, Kennedy ignored the broad agreement among scientists that rather than reflecting a true rise in autism, much of the increase in the reported autism rate over the years is due to changes in diagnostic criteria and increased awareness.

We fact-checked Kennedy's claim in this social media video.

[link removed]

You can follow us on: YouTube ([link removed]) , Facebook ([link removed]) , Instagram ([link removed]) , Threads ([link removed]) , X ([link removed]) , BlueSky ([link removed]) , WhatsApp ([link removed]) and TikTok ([link removed]) .


** Wrapping Up
------------------------------------------------------------

Here's what else we've got for you this week:
* Assessing Claims About the Reliability of D.C. Crime Data ([link removed])
The Trump administration has accused the Washington, D.C., police department of reporting “phony crime stats” and “cooking the books,” citing the suspension of a police commander for allegedly altering crime data. The U.S. attorney’s office in the district reportedly opened an investigation into whether city officials had manipulated crime statistics. Here’s what we know about the allegations.

Y lo que publicamos en español ([link removed]) (English versions are accessible in each story):
* Las tergiversaciones de Trump sobre las fianzas sin efectivo ([link removed])
Desde que el presidente Donald Trump anunció la toma temporal del control de las fuerzas de orden en Washington D. C. por parte del gobierno federal, Trump ha criticado reiteradamente las leyes estatales que limitan el uso de fianzas monetarias. Sin embargo, sus argumentos se han desviado de lo cierto en tres aspectos clave.

* Preguntas y respuestas sobre el intento de la EPA de Trump de reducir la regulación de las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero ([link removed])
La semana pasada, la Agencia de Protección Ambiental (EPA, por sus siglas en inglés) realizó audiencias públicas sobre su propuesta de desmantelar el fundamento legal de su regulación de los gases de efecto invernadero, los gases que atrapan calor y causan el cambio climático. En un importante cambio de política anunciado a finales de julio, la EPA de la administración Trump anunció que rescindiría la llamada “determinación de peligro” (endangerment finding, en inglés), que le permite a la agencia regular dichas emisiones, argumentando que ciertos avances legales y científicos justifican una reconsideración.

Do you like FactCheck.Weekly? Share it with a friend! They can subscribe here ([link removed]) .
Donate to Support Our Work ([link removed])

============================================================
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Instagram ([link removed])
** Threads ([link removed])
** YouTube ([link removed])
** TikTok ([link removed])
** WhatsApp ( [link removed])
We'll show up in your inbox every Friday with this fact-focused rundown. But you can message us any day of the week with questions or comments: [email protected].
Copyright © 2025 FactCheck.org, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
FactCheck.org
Annenberg Public Policy Center
P.O. Box 58100
Philadelphia, PA 19102

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed][UNIQID]&c=ff9a7620f9&utm_source=FactCheck.org&utm_campaign=3e4ccdbe29-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2025_08_28_07_55&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-3e4ccdbe29-48392213)
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed][UNIQID]&c=ff9a7620f9&utm_source=FactCheck.org&utm_campaign=3e4ccdbe29-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2025_08_28_07_55&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-3e4ccdbe29-48392213)
.

This email was sent to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
why did I get this? ([link removed]) unsubscribe from this list ([link removed]) update subscription preferences ([link removed])
FactCheck.org: A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center . P.O. Box 58100 . Philadelphia, Pa 19102 . USA