Stand up for the facts!

Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.

More Info

I would like to contribute

$
Facebook posts
Facebook posts
stated on October 9, 2022 in a Facebook post:

“Merrick Garland catches Trump planning to flee.”

False

There’s no evidence that Trump was fleeing the country, or that Garland caught him doing so

If your time is short

  • We found no evidence to support this claim.
 
See the sources for this fact-check

Speculation abounds about whether Merrick Garland will become the first U.S. attorney general to indict a former president. But there’s no evidence to support a recent social media claim that Garland caught former President Donald Trump trying to skip the country. 

“Merrick Garland catches Trump planning to flee,” an Oct. 9 Facebook post said. 

This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook.)

We reached out to the Justice Department for comment about the post, but didn’t immediately hear back. 

Nevertheless, we found no credible reports or other sources to corroborate the Facebook post’s claim. 

A video in the Facebook post includes a clip of CNN news coverage of the FBI’s seizure of documents from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, and features someone musing about Trump fleeing the country. But the person didn’t say Garland caught Trump planning to flee.

We rate this post False. 

Our Sources

Facebook post, Oct. 9, 2022

The Atlantic, THE INEVITABLE INDICTMENT OF DONALD TRUMP, Oct. 11, 2022

 

There’s no evidence that Trump was fleeing the country, or that Garland caught him doing so

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
stated on January 7, 2026 a press briefing

stated on January 14, 2026 a statement

Social Media
stated on February 14, 2026 social media posts



stated on January 20, 2026 an op-ed


Donald Trump
stated on February 3, 2026 remarks in the Oval Office


Social Media
stated on February 8, 2026 social media posts





Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
stated on stated on November 17, 2025 in remarks at George Washington University:

Donald Trump
stated on February 2, 2026 an interview with Dan Bongino