Rudy Giuliani has been front and center over the last couple of days defending and dodging for Donald Trump. He seems less like a lawyer for the president and more like a co-star in his latest reality show. The former Mayor of New York City has appeared on several TV shows pulling out every excuse in the book for his biggest client. As he gasps for straws his latest is not just a denial of whether Trump (and associates) colluded with Russians, instead, he has a new narrative he is pushing about whether collusion is against the law.
Giuliani: “I don’t even know if that’s a crime, colluding about Russians. You start analyzing the crime — the hacking is the crime. The president didn’t hack” pic.twitter.com/GTnUxXBeTL
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) July 30, 2018
Apparently, Giuliani and his friends at Fox News also find talk of collusion to be rather amusing.
WOW — @RudyGiuliani begins @foxandfriends interview by downplaying the significance of collusion.
"I have been sitting here looking in the federal code trying to find collusion as a crime. Collusion is not a crime." 👀 pic.twitter.com/fD1MdS6T29
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 30, 2018
It’s clear Giuliani is now making a case that if Trump did collude it doesn’t matter. He is certainly not denying Michael Cohen’s account that Trump knew about the infamous Trump Tower meeting.
NEW: Giuliani just moved the goal posts in 2 big ways on Fox & CNN :
1. He's no longer claiming Trump didn't collude with Russia. He's claiming "collusion is not a crime."
2. He's not saying Trump did not know abt 2016 Russia mtg in advance. He's saying Trump did not ATTEND it.— Christina Wilkie (@christinawilkie) July 30, 2018
We discussed this yesterday on @CNNSotu — bar being lowered by Trump advocates/pundits who have shifted from “no collusion”/‘this is a crazy conspiracy theory’ and seem to be moving towards (or have arrived at) ‘so what if Trump campaign accepted help from Russia?’ https://t.co/1oT3WUA2Sh
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) July 30, 2018
Even if all that is true, as The Atlantic points out this could now be a case of not just collusion, but conspiracy as well.
As for obstruction of justice, Giuliani says that is a topic his client wants to avoid talking about.
Giuliani hints that Trump might still be willing to answer Mueller’s questions about collusion, but not obstruction of justice. pic.twitter.com/UOOHa6lB03
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 30, 2018
Much of the potentially damning information that has come out in the past week is thanks to Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen. Giuliani is now painting him and Robert Mueller as the President’s biggest foes. Certainly a shift as far as what both he and Trump have said about these men in the past.
"What the heck are you picking on me for saying he was an honest, honorable man, when I didn't know he tape recorded conversations with his clients?" asks Rudy Giuliani of Michael Cohen. "George Washington didn't know that Benedict Arnold was a traitor" https://t.co/RNFNjQICvl pic.twitter.com/9qzecuWpo7
— CNN This Morning with Kasie Hunt (@CNNThisMorning) July 30, 2018
CNN: Trump tweeted that Mueller has "a nasty business relationship” w/him. What did he mean?
GIULIANI: I can't tell you
C: If you can't talk about it, why would Trump tweet it?
G: Ask Mueller
C: Why should Mueller have to explain Trump's tweets?
G: 'Cause he has the conflict pic.twitter.com/LQFaUbN207
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 30, 2018
Giuliani's on CNN saying that Mueller's "conflicts" pollute his ability to run the Trump-Russia probe–but *won't describe* Mueller's exact conflicts. Giuliani then smears a Mueller staffer, Andrew Weissmann, as a "complete scoundrel" w/o any evidence. Horrid, McCarthyite stuff. pic.twitter.com/gS1142udkG
— Tim O'Brien (@TimOBrien) July 30, 2018
https://twitter.com/amandawgolden/status/1023904927012278273
Based on Rudy Giuliani's tired, nervous performance right now on @cnn, I'm thinking it's going to be a very bad week ahead for Donald & Co.
— Roland Scahill (@rolandscahill) July 30, 2018