This Monday, President Donald Trump’s defense team continued their attempt at making their client’s case on the floor of the Senate, and they quickly went to such outlandish extremes that one of them — personal Trump lawyer Jane Raskin, who also represented Trump during the Russia investigation — lauded the continuously conspiracy theory-shouting Rudy Giuliani as a supposed “national hero.” Besides the ridiculousness of that claim — do heroics now constitute lengthy rants on Fox News? — they also brazenly lied and claimed that Giuliani’s role in the Ukraine bribery scandal at the center of the impeachment proceedings was a lot smaller than it actually was.
In reality, Giuliani personally, repeatedly went to Ukraine to try and pressure the country’s authorities into investigating the Bidens, and simultaneously, he attempted to collect evidence for his wild conspiracy theories — which now even include the bonkers claim that some unnamed nefarious forces tried to kill an opponent of the Bidens.
No matter his outlandish theatrics, Raskin pushed some alternative facts about Giuliani. She told the Senate:
‘The House managers would have you believe that Mr. Giuliani is at the center of this controversy. They’ve anointed him the proxy villain of the tale, the leader of a rogue operation. Their presentations were filled with ad hominem attacks and name-calling … but I suggest to you he’s front and center in their narrative for one reason alone: to distract from the fact that the evidence does not support their claims.’
Raskin went so far that she even criticized the Russia investigation. She insisted that Giuliani was only trying to dig up those conspiracy theories “to defend his client against the false allegations being investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller.” The idea is that if he could prove that Ukraine led election meddling, then the facts of Trump’s cooperation with Russia could be overturned.
The House Intelligence Committee’s Democratic majority abruptly issued a public rebuttal to Raskin’s false claims.
They shared:
‘Reality: Witnesses testified that Trump directed them to “talk to Rudy” about Ukraine. Trump himself mentioned Giuliani on the call with Zelensky. And Ukrainians viewed Rudy as “the key.”‘
White House Claim: Rudy Giuliani is “a minor player.”
Reality: Witnesses testified that Trump directed them to "talk to Rudy" about Ukraine. Trump himself mentioned Giuliani on the call with Zelensky. And Ukrainians viewed Rudy as "the key." #TruthMatters pic.twitter.com/dCapHobQif
— House Intelligence Committee (@HouseIntel) January 27, 2020
Indeed — Giuliani was a point man for the president’s scheme to bribe Ukraine into investigating his domestic political opponents, including the Bidens. These investigations were meant to be based on completely baseless allegations that while Vice President, Joe Biden pressured Ukraine to fire a top prosecutor to protect his son — but in reality, that prosecutor was widely considered corrupt.
And Joseph Brody, who’s a lawyer for Giuliani’s former associate Lev Parnas, added another fierce rebuttal of Raskin’s claims.
He tweeted:
‘The White House claim that Rudy Giuliani was a minor player is false. RG directed Lev Parnas, including giving quid pro quos to Ukranian President Poroshenko & Zelensky Chief of Staff, on behalf of Trump. The evidentiary record corroborates Parnas.’
The White House claim that Rudy Giuliani was a minor player is false. RG directed Lev Parnas, including giving quid pro quos to Ukranian President Poroshenko & Zelensky Chief of Staff, on behalf of Trump. The evidentiary record corroborates Parnas. #LetLevSpeak #CallTheWitnesses https://t.co/Q5wSIZO5pS
— Joseph A. Bondy (@josephabondy) January 27, 2020
No matter the baselessness of their arguments, the president and his defenders are feverishly continuing. After their opening arguments conclude and Senators submit their initial questions, the question of whether or not to hear from witnesses is set to be again formally considered.
