President Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani appeared on Fox News on Saturday, and boastfully warned that he has dirt to reveal should Trump ever throw him under the bus to save himself.
The impeachment inquiry has been a disaster for Trump ever since public hearings began last week as administration officials continue to come forward with damning testimony, including a Giuliani associate who outed Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) for meeting with a Ukrainian official to seek dirt on former Vice-President Joe Biden.
As it becomes clear that Trump committed impeachable and criminal acts that he can be ousted from office and prosecuted for, there are rumblings that he could try to pin the whole thing on Giuliani in an effort to save himself.
But Giuliani is having none of it, even going so far as telling Fox News that he has “insurance” in case Trump attempts to betray him.
“I’ve seen things written like ‘He is going to throw me under the bus,’” Giuliani said. “When they say that, I say, ‘He isn’t, but I have insurance.’”
That’s a stunning admission suggesting that Giuliani has evidence incriminating his client in criminal activities, something that any lawyer worth their salt would never do.
When asked if he’s scared of being prosecuted for his participation in the Ukraine scandal because seeking help from foreign nationals and blackmailing them to hurt a political opponent is illegal, Giuliani seemed to shrug it off.
“How long have you known me?” he asked. “Do you think I’m afraid? Do you think I get afraid?”
Well, he better be, because the evidence is mounting and Trump associates are turning on each other. After all, Giuliani did just openly accuse Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of obstructing justice.
Here’s the video via Twitter:
WOW: @RudyGiuliani seems to suggest he has dirt that would prevent TRUMP from turning on him: “I’ve seen things written like ‘he is going to throw me under the bus.’ When they say that, I say ‘he isn’t, but I have insurance.”
Asserts he as a “very good relationship” with Trump. pic.twitter.com/cD70LM5EJq— Kenneth P. Vogel (@kenvogel) November 23, 2019
Again, threatening a client is a highly unethical thing for a lawyer to do, and that’s why legal experts are already using it as a teaching tool while also slamming Giuliani’s behavior and claiming that the Ukraine scandal must be even worse than we know.
Just remember: Stuff like this, the fact that we haven’t heard from John Bolton, or from Mick Mulvaney, and the fact that this investigation has only gone on for a few weeks, means that we are only at chapter one of this Ukraine scandal. https://t.co/J1AZIqAkUf
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) November 23, 2019
What “insurance” does Giuliani have on Trump?
It’s totally unethical for a lawyer to suggest that he has negative information about a client, or threaten to release it, but Giuliani has flaunted his professional responsibility for some time. https://t.co/YHuzdmleha
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) November 23, 2019
Law students, take note: It’s not a great idea for an attorney (i) to repeatedly tweet in a way (“I was only acting for my client”) that undermines your client’s interests, nor (ii) to publicly blackmail your client w/insinuations that you have info that would harm him. https://t.co/EPHExZIntc
— Marty Lederman (@marty_lederman) November 23, 2019
So…. @RudyGiuliani is extorting @realDonaldTrump to make sure Trump doesn’t throw Rudy under the bus for shaking down Ukraine to get dirt for a political campaign. Got it. https://t.co/BhAyc3ak2y
— Mimi Rocah (@Mimirocah1) November 23, 2019
Clearly, Giuliani must have the goods on Trump if he is so willing to threaten to throw him under the bus if Trump tries to use him as a patsy. This threat could have been made privately but Giuliani did it very publicly, and the New York state bar must be very concerned, if not outraged, that Giuliani would violate ethics in this way. The question is, since Giuliani just suggested that Trump did something wrong, has attorney-client privilege been breached? And if so, does that mean Congress can compel him to testify against Trump?
Even if that’s not the case, Giuliani would be better off taking Trump down before Trump takes him down with him.
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