Donald Trump’s TV attorney was dressed to the nines when he showed up on the red carpet at the president’s Mar-a-Lago New Year’s Eve party in Palm Beach, FL. From all appearances, it might be dangerous to get between Rudy Giuliani and a microphone. He nearly glistened as the reporters pelted him with questions.
One of them asked if he would testify at the president’s impeachment hearing in the Senate. He replied, according to The Slate:
‘I would testify. I would do demonstrations. I’d give lectures. I’d give summations. Or I’d do what I do best: I’d try the case. I’d love to try the case.’
Wait. That was an odd response. Hopefully, Giuliani recalled that his client Trump was the defendant, not the one prosecuting. He sounded a little off, but that could easily be a ploy. He was together enough to run rampant over Ukraine long before anyone caught onto him.
Giuliani was a federal prosecutor and headed up the Southern District Of New York’s (SDNY) office in the early 1980s. Now that very office has been investigating him for a related issue. The former New York mayor mentioned his days when he used racketeering laws against the New York mafia:
‘I don’t know if anybody would have the courage to give me the case, but if you give me the case, I will prosecute it as a racketeering case, which I kind of invented anyway.’
Then, the former mayor insulted the attorneys in the House whose job it would be to prosecute Trump:
‘I’m great at it. It’s what I do best as a lawyer. That’s what I would be good at. Oh, I would love it. I could rip — you know, I hate to sound like a ridiculously boastful lawyer, but cross-examining them would be — I don’t know. I could’ve done it when I was a second-year assistant U.S. attorney. They’re a bunch of clowns.’
Even as the case against Trump was reaching a pitch, Giuliani was traveling in Ukraine. He was in the futile search for “dirt” against his boss’ top contender for the 2020 presidential election, former vice president under President Barack Obama, Joe Biden.
In one of the president’s communications, Trump made it clear to the new Ukrainian President Zolodymyr Zelensky the investigation did not have to be real. Giuliani was meeting with some of the country’s shadiest characters from before Zelensky time.
One of the senior Republican Senate aides said:
‘[He] wouldn’t trust Rudy to represent me in a parking dispute. [Other Republicans should avoid] meeting with the president’s attorney.’
Democrats have said Giuliani is likely to push “Russian propaganda” to defend Trump as he has in the past.
Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee Linsey Graham has bonded himself to Trump. He issued a warning, “Giuliani should vet his information before presenting it:”
‘My advice to Giuliani would be to share what he got from Ukraine with the IC [intelligence community] to make sure it’s not Russia propaganda. I’m very suspicious of what the Russians are up to all over the world.’
Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) is Minority Leader in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He said:
‘Rudy Giuliani long ago lost any shred of credibility, especially after the dossier he assembled for the State Department stunningly mirrored Russian propaganda. Knowing that, anyone that attempts to defend President Trump’s behavior by citing Rudy’s information over our own intelligence agencies is simply irresponsible, uninformed or willing to be that useful idiot the Kremlin desires.’
The Mueller Report Adventures: In Bite-Sizes on this Facebook page. These quick, two-minute reads interpret the report in normal English for busy people. Mueller Bite-Sizes uncovers what is essentially a compelling spy mystery. Interestingly enough, Mueller Bite-Sizes can be read in any order.
