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| - FACT CHECK: Does Joe Biden’s Brother-In-Law Own Dominion Voting Systems?
A viral Facebook post shared over 2,300 times claims President-elect Joe Biden’s sister is married to the owner of the election technology firm Dominion Voting Systems.
Verdict: False
A spokesperson for Dominion Voting Systems confirmed there is no familial relation between Valerie Biden Owens and Stephen Owens. Valerie Biden Owens is married to John T. Owens, not the co-founder of the private equity firm that holds the majority ownership stake in Dominion Voting Systems.
Fact Check:
In the weeks following the election, the election technology firm Dominion Voting Systems has been the target of baseless allegations of election fraud, according to the Washington Post. Now a viral Facebook post attempts to connect President-elect Joe Biden to the company by claiming his sister is married to Stephen Owens, who, the post alleges, owns Dominion Voting Systems.
Stephen Owens is a co-founder and a managing director at the private equity firm Staple Street Capital, according to PitchBook. Staple Street Capital owns 75.2 percent of Dominion Voting Systems, Dominion CEO John Poulos said in a letter responding to a request from the House Committee on Administration, according to The Associated Press. Poulos also said that he owns 12 percent of the company and that no other investor owns more than a 5 percent stake, the outlet reported.
Joe Biden has one sister, Valerie Biden Owens, who has advised him throughout his career in politics, Quartz reported. Valerie Biden Owens is married to John T. Owens, not Stephen Owens, according to a wedding announcement in The New York Times. John T. Owens owns the Delaware-based telemedicine company Mediguide International, the Washington Post reported Dec. 14.
A spokesperson for Dominion Voting Systems confirmed to Check Your Fact via email that there is no family connection between Stephen Owens and Valerie Biden Owens. A spokesperson for Staple Street also told Snopes that Stephen Owens has no relation to the Biden family.
Other iterations of the claim also baselessly attempt to link R. Kevin Owens, the brother of John T. Owens and an attorney, to Dominion Voting Systems, Snopes reported. (RELATED: Does Attorney General William Barr Sit On The Board Of Dominion Voting Systems?)
Owens is a fairly common last name in the U.S. The claim that Valerie Biden Owens is married to Stephen Owens appears to stem from confusion surrounding the two having the same last name. We rate this claim false.
This fact check is available at IFCN’s 2020 US Elections FactChat #Chatbot on WhatsApp. Click here, for more.
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