Donald Trump defended his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, on Friday as the criminal investigation against the former New York mayor continues to heat up. According to Mediaite , Trump spoke with reporters at the White House where he pushed back against the House impeachment inquiry, which centers around Giuliani and Trump’s interaction with Ukraine leaders.
Trump weighed in on the assertion that he pressured Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to speak with Giuliani to coordinate an investigation into Trump’s potential political rival in the 2020 election, Joe Biden.
One reporter asked Trump if he was worried about Giuliani as two of his associates – Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman – were recently arrested on campaign finance charges for their part in the Ukraine situation.
“I don’t think so, because I think Rudy is a great gentleman,” Trump replied. “He’s been a great crimefighter. He looks for corruption wherever he goes. Everybody understands Ukraine has great problems in that regard. He was the greatest mayor in the history of New York and has been one of the greatest crimefighters and corruption fighters. Rudy Giuliani is a good man.”
People on social media were quick to criticize the president’s comments, with some pointing out that Giuliani is currently under criminal investigation, which challenges the notion that he is fighting corruption. CNN reporter Sam Vinograd suggested that perhaps Trump was attempting to signal to Giuliani publicly as a form of witness tampering. Vinograd pointed out that Trump had done something similar with Michael Cohen.
Not only is Giuliani facing a criminal investigation, but the former mayor also recently made a statement that some legal experts say could constitute a high crime.
As The Inquistr previously reported, Giuliani tweeted that he was acting on behalf of Trump in a personal capacity when he attempted to negotiate with Zelensky.
“With all the Fake News let me make it clear that everything I did was to discover evidence to defend my client against false charges. [Democrats] would be horrified by the attacks on me, if my client was a terrorist. But they don’t believe [President Donald Trump] has rights,” Giuliani wrote.
Legal experts say that this is an admission that Giuliani was acting to support Trump in his role in the Ukraine situation, and not to benefit the country’s interests. This could be a violation of Trump’s oath to uphold the constitution and to defend the U.S. as it could mean that he used his office to benefit himself.