Giuliani Out Soon as Trump's Lawyer, Gowdy Rises
- by Lorene Schwartz
- in People
- — Nov 30, 2019
Trump told Zelensky: "Mr. Giuliani is a highly respected man".
In response to a question from Newsmax on October 10 about Gowdy becoming his chief attorney, Trump replied before boarding the Marine One helicopter the former congressman has "a problem. he can't start for another couple of months because of lobbying rules and regulations".
"You have to ask that to Rudy".
Trump also contradicted sworn testimony from members of his administration and claims from his own White House acting chief of staff.
Giuliani has repeatedly stated he conducted an investigation on President Trump's behalf, to defend him against false allegations by his political enemies.
Newsmax tried to reach Gowdy at his SC law office, but he did not return our calls at presstime. The former NY mayor would have helped the Ukraine government find stolen money in return for a payment to his firm of $300,000.
Sondland, a Trump donor, said Giuliani told him that Trump wanted Zelenskiy to make a public statement on investigating corruption, and was particularly concerned about probing Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company, and a debunked theory that Ukraine, not Russian Federation, meddled in the 2016 US election.
President Trump's attorney added: "I thought that would be too complicated".
"No", the President acknowledged, earlier than launching into a tangent of flattering Giuliani's credentials, calling him "a large corruption fighter" and "the finest mayor" of Recent York Metropolis. "If you happen to would possibly per chance perchance consult with him that would possibly per chance perchance be enormous." .
Trump signs Hong Kong bill that will strain relations with China
Seen as a stunning rebuke to Beijing and its supporters in Hong Kong, the elections drew a record turnout in voter participation. British Columbia MP Kenny Chiu, who represents a Vancouver-area riding for the Conservative Party, offered his support for Ms.
"My understanding was that the President directed Mr. Giuliani's participation, and that Mr. Giuliani was expressing the concerns of the President", Sondland added.
Costello declined to comment on what directions Trump had given Giuliani on Ukraine, citing attorney-client privilege.
In testimony from two key witnesses alone, Gordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the European Union and Kurt Volker, then the USA special representative for Ukraine, Giuliani was mentioned more than 430 times, highlighting his outsize influence in Ukraine policy. And on Wednesday, CNN's KFile reported that Giuliani has given inconsistent answers about his connections to a Ukrainian oligarch who he previously said he had "nothing to do with".
A third time, Trump referenced Giuliani: "I will tell Rudy and Attorney General Barr to call".
Giuliani has denied having any business dealings in Ukraine, but federal prosecutors are investigating Giuliani and two associates, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, who were helping him look for dirt on Biden.
"He felt personally insulted by what happened during my campaign, because there were a lot of bad things happening", Trump said. US diplomats worked with Ukraine to craft a public statement vowing the investigation Trump wanted - but had to run it by Giuliani.
Lutsenko was also a vocal opponent of former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch.
But Trump's claim he didn't direct Giuliani's Ukraine efforts does parallel a similar strategy the President used with his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, who is now in prison for a handful of financial crimes, including campaign finance violations that Trump directed him to commit, according to the Justice Department.
Parnas and Fruman have been indicted on campaign finance violations for allegedly sending large amounts of money to USA politicians.
