Ukraine probe: Donald Trump defends his ‘legendary’ lawyer Rudy Giuliani ... for now
- Rudy Giuliani now finds himself drawn into an expanding criminal probe run by his old office into illegal campaign contributions
US President Donald Trump was standing behind personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, one of his highest-profile and most vocal defenders, amid reports that federal prosecutors in the city Giuliani led as mayor was eyeing him for possible lobbying violations.
Behind the scenes, however, many of Trump’s closest aides and advisers, inside and outside the White House, quietly wish the president would cut ties with Giuliani, whose leadership of New York after the September 11 terrorist attacks earned him worldwide admiration and the moniker of “America’s mayor”.
Giuliani was a force in Trump’s defence during the lengthy Russia investigation by the special counsel. Yet the effort to undermine special counsel Robert Mueller led Giuliani to Ukraine, which now entangles the former federal prosecutor and mayor in legal jeopardy and is central to the danger threatening the presidency he laboured to protect.
The New York Times reported Friday, citing a pair of anonymous sources familiar with the matter, that the investigation is linked to Giuliani’s efforts to undermine Marie Yovanovitch, formerly the US ambassador to Ukraine.
Two Florida businessmen with ties to Giuliani were charged Thursday with federal campaign finance violations. Both played key roles in Giuliani’s efforts to get Ukraine to launch a corruption investigation into Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden and his son Hunter, who sat on the board of a gas company there.
Donald Trump called ex-Ukraine envoy Marie Yovanovitch ‘bad news’. Now she’s defying him to testify at impeachment inquiry
On Saturday, Trump deployed in Giuliani’s defence the same two-word phrase - “Witch Hunt!” - he repeatedly used to attack the legitimacy of the special counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and now the House impeachment inquiry against him.
“So now they are after the legendary ‘crime buster’ and greatest Mayor in the history of NYC, Rudy Giuliani,” Trump tweeted while on the way to his northern Virginia golf club.
But along with the chummy bravado, there was a hint that Trump may be laying the groundwork to toss his personal lawyer under the bus soon.
“He’s may seem a little rough around the edges sometimes,” Trump conceded in the same tweet.
A whistle-blower complaint about Trump’s dealings with Ukraine led Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to open an impeachment inquiry into the president.
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Three House committees hearing testimony in the impeachment probe heard Friday from Yovanovitch.
The former ambassador has said she was fired from her post in May after insisting that Giuliani’s requests to Ukrainian officials for investigations be relayed through official channels, according to a former diplomat who has spoken with her. The former diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private conversation.
Trump seemed to try to create space between himself and Giuliani on Friday when reporters asked if Giuliani was still representing him.
“Well, I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to Rudy,” Trump said as he left the White House for a trip to Louisiana, adding that the two spoke briefly on Thursday.
“He’s a very good attorney, and he has been my attorney. Yeah, sure.”
Asked if he still represented Trump, Giuliani replied to Associated Press with a one-word text message: “Yes”.
White House officials have been flabbergasted by Giuliani’s performance on Trump’s behalf, particularly his habit of revealing embarrassing information without so much as a heads-up to the president’s full-time aides.
Aides have come to view Giuliani’s behaviour much as they have their boss’ - with resignation that they will rarely be consulted beforehand to develop a strategic plan, and that any plan will be ignored.
One White House aide said there was frustration among aides that they have borne the brunt of criticism from some in Trump’s orbit for not having a more coordinated response to the impeachment probe, saying they were operating without visibility into what Giuliani has been doing.
The aide and others who spoke on this subject did so on the condition of anonymity.
Aides who spoke on this subject said the general feeling among them is that Trump has yet to fully grasp the extent of Giuliani’s side-dealings and hope Trump will eventually sour on his fellow New Yorker.
Many in the administration - including in the West Wing and at the State Department - have tried to distance themselves from Giuliani’s dealings in Ukraine, eagerly leaking to reporters unflattering stories about the former mayor’s clumsy investigative efforts.
Before entering politics, Giuliani was a tough and successful US attorney for the southern district of New York – the office which is now investigating him.
“Such a one[-]sided Witch Hunt going on in USA,” Trump insisted on Saturday.
“Deep State. Shameful!”
The reference to the “Deep State” was to a popular rightwing conspiracy theory which posits the existence of a permanent government of intelligence officials and bureaucrats, dedicated to stymying Trump’s agenda.
The former Trump campaign chair, White House strategist and Breitbart News supremo Steve Bannon, a prime mover behind the popularisation of the conspiracy, is on record as saying “none of this is true” and the theory is “for nut cases”.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg and The Guardian
