FACT CHECK: Did Rudy Giuliani Threaten To Reveal Harmful Information About Trump?

A post shared on social media purports that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani threatened to reveal information about Former President Donald Trump if he fails to pay him.

Verdict: False

The claim stems from a satirical account. There is no evidence that Giuliani made this statement.

Fact Check:

Trump recently referred to special counsel Jack Smith as a “Trump Hater…of historic proportions,” MSNBC has reported. Smith was assigned to the investigation of Trump’s retention of classified documents that were confiscated by the FBI at Mar-a-Largo in August 2022, according to CNN.

The Facebook post purports that Rudy Giuliani will give information to Smith if Trump does not pay Giuliani. The post does not give any information on where this claim comes from. “BREAKING,” the post reads. “Rudy Giuliani says if Donald Trump doesn’t pay him the money he’s owed, he ‘may have some information Jack Smith would find very interesting.’”

The claim is baseless. The report appears to stem from a satirical Twitter account called The Halfway Post. The account shares a disclaimer about their content in the bio saying, “Halfway true comedy…I don’t report the facts, I improve them.”

BREAKING: Rudy Giuliani says if Donald Trump doesn’t pay him the money he’s owed, he “may have some information Jack Smith would find very interesting.”

— The Halfway Post (@HalfwayPost) February 24, 2023

There is no credible news report that suggests this is an authentic news report. Giuliani has made no such comments on his verified social media accounts. (RELATED: Did Glenn Youngkin Clear The Way For Police To Seek Menstrual Histories?)

In Jan. 2021 there were reports that Trump refused to Pay Giuliani’s legal fees. The fees costed as much as $20,000 a day, which “offended” Trump, according to The Guardian. Giuliani was a target of the Georgia Grand Jury investigation to overturn the 2020 election results, testifying for six hours in August 2022, NBC News reported.

This is not the first time a satirical post has been shared online as real. Check Your Fact recently debunked a claim that Edward Snowden revealed an HAARP global assassination agenda.