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Fact check: Baseless but widespread rumor that Pelosi purchased a $25M Florida mansion

Bayliss Wagner Alexandra Clough
USA TODAY

The claim: Nancy Pelosi recently purchased a $25 million home in Florida 

Between Nov. 22 and Nov. 24, several politicians, conservative pundits and countless social media users accused House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., of hypocrisy for a supposed purchase of a $25 million mansion in Florida.

The news of Pelosi's supposed purchase seems to have spread from the Twitter account Nancy Pelosi Portfolio Tracker, which includes photos of a beachfront estate, but no substantiation of the claim.

“Nancy Pelosi just bought a 11,000 square foot, $25 million mansion in Florida,” reads the Nov. 22 tweet, which over 5,000 users retweeted. “Someone doesn't want to pay exorbitant taxes in her home state she has ruined. Climate change and global warming thrown out the door.”

A host of social media users shared screenshots of the tweet on other platforms, such as the Facebook page President Trump Fans, which added the caption, “Even Nancy Pelosi is fleeing California for Florida.” 

Outrage about the purported sale rippled through conservative circles online, with references to the supposed purchase appearing in the Daily Mail and the Gateway Pundit, as well as posts by conservative commentator Dan Bongino, father of Parkland shooting victim and school safety activist Andrew Pollack, freelance journalist Jordan Schachtel and former California House candidate Buzz Patterson. 

However, there's no news story here. The buyer of the house Pelosi supposedly purchased is neither Pelosi nor someone associated with her, the Palm Beach Post reported.

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Furthermore, Pelosi isn't in the market for a Florida residence at all, according to her spokesperson.

"This is completely false. There’s no such pending sale nor is the family looking or interested," Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill told USA TODAY in an email.

USA TODAY reached out to several users who shared the post for comment.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, speaks during a news conference at the Capitol on Oct. 12.

Pelosi isn't looking for a house in Florida, nor did she purchase one

Reverse image searches matched the photos used in the viral tweet and other claims to a home on Jupiter Island, Florida, listed for a price of $25 million on Zillow and marked as "pending" on Nov. 30. Its address is 429 S. Beach Rd, Hobe Sound, FL, 33455.

Waterfront Properties owner Rob Thomson, who represents the home's buyer, told the Palm Beach Post that Pelosi did not purchase the mansion. Rather, the home sold to an unnamed resident of Jupiter's Admirals Cove community, Thomson said. 

"There is zero association between the seller of the home, the buyer of the home and Nancy Pelosi," Rob Thomson, owner of Waterfront Properties, told the Post.

As AFP reported, Bongino wrote on Facebook that he was "disgusted that Nancy Pelosi is reportedly buying a 25 MILLION dollar home just miles from where I live." However, he deleted his post after "some local news outlets reported otherwise," Bongino wrote to USA TODAY.

The Daily Mail later updated its story to note Pelosi said the report was untrue. The Gateway Pundit story remained online as of Nov. 30.

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The seed for this rumor may have been planted on Nov. 6, when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., tweeted that she and Pelosi had taken the same flight going to or returning from South Florida. Greene claimed that Pelosi was heading there to “house-hunt.”

"She wants to retire in Florida to enjoy low taxes, mask-free hair salons, and Republican freedom policies, while literally destroying all these good things for the American people,” Greene's tweet says.

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Hammill told USA TODAY that Pelosi was in South Florida to fundraise for House Democrats. Greene's tweet didn't provide any evidence for her claim that Pelosi was there to find a new home.

USA TODAY reached out to Greene's spokesperson for comment. 

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that Nancy Pelosi recently purchased a $25 million home in Florida. The home in question, 429 S. Beach Road on Florida's Jupiter Island, was sold to a resident of a nearby community, not Pelosi or anyone associated with her, according to the buyer's agent. 

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