Donald Trump came to the defense of Rudy Giuliani on Saturday, only a day aftersaying he didn’t knowif the former New York mayor was still his personal attorney and as pressure continued to mount in the impeachment inquiry linked to Giuliani’s work in Ukraine.
Giuliani “may seem a little rough around the edges”, Trumptweeted, “but he is also a great guy and wonderful lawyer”.
The president did not say Giuliani was still his personal attorney. The former mayor said on Friday he was.
Giuliani isunder pressureover his extra-governmental role in Trump’s attempts to pressure Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, a potential opponent in the 2020 election, over unfounded allegations of corruption involving the former vice-president’s son.
Two Soviet-born US citizens, both associates of Giuliani,were arrested on Wednesdayon suspicion of campaign finance violations, while trying to leave the US on One-way tickets.
On Friday, the New York Timesreportedthat Giuliani himself was under federal investigation over his work on and in Ukraine. )
Trump has seemed recently to begin to distance himself from Giuliani, amidreportsthat allies of the president want the voluble former mayor to keep quiet.
Theimpeachment inquiryrun by House Democrats is gathering pace, fuelled by the Ukraine scandal and dragging the state department and senior diplomats into a morass of committee hearings, subpoenas and bare-knuckle political battles.
On Friday the former US ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitchtestified in privatebefore House committees conducting the impeachment inquiry, having defied White House and state department efforts to block her.
Discussing her controversial removal, Yovanovitch said: “The harm will come when private interests circumvent professional diplomats for their own gain, not the public good.”
As he left the White House for a campaign rally in Louisiana, the president was asked if Giuliani was still his personal attorney.
“I don’t know,”Trump said. “I haven’t spoken to Rudy. I spoke to him yesterday briefly. He’s a very good attorney, and he has been my attorney. ”
Giulianitold the Washington Posthe was still representing Trump.
Analysts have questioned the common description of Giuliani as Trump’s lawyer, given the apparently non-legal nature of his work. Giuliani hassuggestedattorney-client privilege would protect him from congressional scrutiny. That notion has beenplaced in doubt.
Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, isserving a three-year jail termfor crimes including campaign finance violations he says were committed by order of his boss. It was reported this month that Cohenwants to write a tell-all book, once he regains his freedom.
On Saturday morning, after leaving the White House for his golf course in Virginia, Trumptweeted: “So now they are after the legendary ‘crime buster’ and greatest Mayor in the history of NYC, Rudy Giuliani. He may seem a little rough around the edges sometimes, but he is also a great guy and wonderful lawyer. ”
Giuliani, 75, was mayor of New York from 1994 to 2001, earning lasting praise for his leadership in the aftermath of the 9 / 11 attacks. In 2012, he briefly ran for the Republican presidential nomination. Before entering politics, he 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 popularization of the conspiracy,is on recordas saying “none of this is true” and the theory is “for nut cases”.
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