Closing in on Rudy's multiple crimes as previous guy might be cutting him loose
Marcy Wheeler is showing how lawfare is not helping Rudy Giuliani as the Daily Beast now indicates that Trump may be cutting Rudy loose, perhaps explaining why there may be no “pocket pardon”.
Trump has blown off Rudy Giuliani's pleas for help as the feds circle:
According to three people familiar with the matter, Trump, as well as several of his legal advisers and confidants, have been hesitant about swooping in to help the embattled Giuliani. https://t.co/vxsf4RrhSn
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) May 17, 2021
In the weeks since the feds raided Rudy Giuliani’s apartment and office in late April, close allies have tried to ferry a slew of emergency requests to former President Donald Trump and his advisers.
But according to three people familiar with the matter, Trump, as well as several of his legal advisers and longtime confidants, have been hesitant about swooping in to help the embattled Giuliani, who for years worked as Trump’s personal lawyer, a political adviser, and attack dog. Giuliani also served as a major player in the Trump-Ukraine scandal and as a key driver in the former president’s efforts to nullify Joe Biden’s clear victory in the 2020 election.
Team Trump’s reluctance to intervene comes at a time when federal investigators have ramped up their probe into whether Giuliani’s Ukraine-related work during the Trump era amounted to an unregistered and illegal lobbying operation on behalf of foreign figures. So far, no charges have been brought against the former New York City mayor as a result of this investigation, which began in 2019. Trump’s silence has led to simmering frustrations among members of Giuliani’s inner orbit, who privately allege that the ex-president’s team is working to convince him to hang Giuliani out to dry in his hour of need.
“It’s a question now of whether or not [the former president and his team] want to leave Rudy to fend for himself or if they’re going to take a stand against this,” one person close to Giuliani said last week. “Right now, we don’t know.”
Among Giuliani allies’ pleas, the three sources said, have been for Trump to issue a strong verbal or written statement saying Giuliani’s work during the Trump-Ukraine saga was done on behalf of then-President Trump—and therefore not part of an illegal foreign lobbying effort. In other words, Trump’s corroboration would be more than good public relations for Giuliani, it would back up a key pillar of Giuliani’s legal argument that he wasn’t lobbying and is innocent of the allegations.
New:
Rudy Giuliani's lawyers ask a federal judge unseal affidavits supporting his search warrant.
They say the implication Giuliani "might destroy evidence or intimidation" is "false," "strains credulity" and is "extremely damaging" to his rep.
ICYMI https://t.co/ijfqJNDerF pic.twitter.com/HDpXmXi3Ap
— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) May 17, 2021
Rudy's lawyers argue that if becomes public that SDNY thought in 2019 that Rudy might destroy evidence and intimidate witnesses, it will damage Rudy's reputation, they say publicly. https://t.co/ARwGCCy2nQ pic.twitter.com/WuAr5WPQl2
— emptywheel (@emptywheel) May 17, 2021
This paragraph is legal nonsense, but it is very useful for Rudy's co-conspirators to know that these are actually two different time spans, and so potentially two entirely different potential crimes.
It might be April 2018-Nov 2019 for iCloud, July 2018-Jan 1 2020 for phones? pic.twitter.com/5zfKm80D8O
— emptywheel (@emptywheel) May 17, 2021
It is just you, but Rudy's role in WikiLeaks is of interest.
— emptywheel (@emptywheel) May 17, 2021
Giuliani's son tells Russian state TV people don't want to live in America after FBI raided his dad
https://t.co/zdEuAkeC3H— Raw Story (@RawStory) May 14, 2021
Hey @RudyGiuliani, how does it feel to have the endorsement of Roger Stone? pic.twitter.com/MtAbQXryYG
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) May 17, 2021
