Fact Check: Did WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange say there's 'no dirt to release' on Trump?
WASHINGTON, DC: A viral claim on X states that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange told Megyn Kelly in a resurfaced interview video that his group never released damaging material on President Donald Trump because there is "no dirt” to share. The posts spread quickly online, but is the claim true, and where did it come from? Let’s look at the details.
What is the claim involving Julian Assange and Trump?
🚨🚨 WATCH: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange tells Megyn Kelly that the reason his organization has never released any damaging materials on President Trump is that “There is no dirt to release on Donald Trump.” He is probably the most squeaky clean individual in Washington… pic.twitter.com/wKhGRcUG5h
— Joshua Hall (@JoshHall2024) December 22, 2025
On December 22, X user Joshua Halls shared a video from a 2016 interview that has now gathered over 777,000 views. The clip claimed that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange told Megyn Kelly his organization never released damaging material on President Donald Trump because, according to him, “there is no dirt to release on Donald Trump.”
The video, titled “WikiLeaks' chief on 2016 White House Race and Media,” reportedly included Assange saying Trump is “probably the most squeaky clean individual in Washington” because he is not a career politician or part of the global elite.
The post caption also described Assange as a hero for exposing the truth about Hillary Clinton, claiming he saved America and the world order from her alleged plans. The caption concluded by saying Trump has “all the cards” to checkmate the Deep State.
Fact Check: Julian Assange did not say 'there is no dirt' on Trump
The claim that Julian Assange said there is no "dirt" on Donald Trump is false. Assange did speak to Kelly in an August 2016 interview on Fox News' 'The Kelly File', but he never said WikiLeaks avoided Trump because no material existed.
Kelly never asked, “Why doesn’t WikiLeaks report dirt on Trump?” and Assange never replied, “There isn’t any.” That widely circulated quote is fabricated.
In reality, Kelly asked, “You’re clearly not rooting for Hillary, but are you rooting for Trump?” Assange replied, “No, I mean, if we have good information on Trump, we publish that.” He added, "You know, some people have asked us, 'When will you release information on Donald Trump?’"
He continued, "And of course we're very interested in all countries, to reveal the truth about any candidate, so people can understand, but actually it's really hard for us to release anything worse than what comes out of Donald Trump's mouth every second day.”
Assange also explained that Trump’s off-the-cuff style makes it difficult for anyone, even WikiLeaks, to release material that significantly harms him. "I mean, it's part of his charismatic appeal that he speaks off the cuff, but, you know, that's difficult for Donald Trump to overcome, a lot of those things, even with a lot of great material coming out by WikiLeaks and other publications," he remarked.
