Rudy Giuliani Walks Back Startling Moscow Claim
- by Gene Daniel
- in Life&Culture
- — Jan 23, 2019
"I can tell you, from the moment I read the story, I knew the story was false".
Asked who in the White House is responsible for handling Giuliani's missteps, a White House aide said, "Handling Rudy's fuck ups takes more than one man". I shouldn't say he had no conversations.
Rarely reluctant to appear before TV cameras or answer a reporter's call, Giuliani has spent almost a year acting as a sort of human smokescreen for Trump. "Said he had conversations with him but the president didn't hide this", Giuliani told Stephanopoulos, indicating that this was the timeline the president provided in his written responses to special counsel Robert Mueller's questions. He has repeated those claims in recent interviews.
Frustration about Giuliani in the West Wing has long run rampant.
Giuliani has been the subject of intense scrutiny this week after talking himself into hot water during interviews on Sunday morning news programs.
Jeffrey McCall, a professor and media critic at DePauw University, suggested to Fox News that when one media giant reports on another outlet, it should "explain its financial interests and connections".
The president has repeatedly denied any collusion.
This was the second time within the past week that Giuliani has walked back comments from the previous day.
However, the lawyer quickly attempted to pour cold water on the developing political fire, saying on Monday that his remarks were "hypothetical" and that they "did not represent the actual timing or circumstances of any such discussions" he had with the president.
"I don't know if it happened or didn't happen", Giuliani said, later adding, "And so what if he talked to him about it?"
Ivanka Trump thanks Martin Luther King Jr. for 'continuing to inspire us'
After returning to the White House from the King monument, Trump had no other public events listed for Monday. King, some of them were from his hometown, and it's wonderful to keep the legacy going", said Cannon.
The lawyer then clarified that there are no tapes before immediately adding: "Well, I have listened to tapes, but none of them concern this". He did not elaborate further.
The BuzzFeed News story sparked immediate backlash from Democratic lawmakers and a denial from Giuliani.
After the report was released Thursday, Mueller spokesman Peter Carr issued a statement disputing the story. BuzzFeed said it stands by its reporting. No other media outlets could confirm the report, but chose to dedicate pages and screen time to the claim with the irresponsible qualifier "if true". Giuliani did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. Giuliani continued, noting, "S$3 o far ..."
Trump insisted repeatedly throughout the presidential campaign that he had no business dealings in Russian Federation.
Felix Sater, a real estate developer and former mobster turned Federal Bureau of Investigation informant who advised the Trump Organization on the deal, said the idea was a marketing ploy. "But now it's time to get precise, you can't be so loose anymore". The report does not specify what Trump said to Cohen or when he said it.
For Trump, Giuliani plays the role more of spokesman than attorney, unleashing public attacks on investigators while throwing out wild accusations created to muddle the narrative of the probe. But at other times the president has expressed dismay at Giuliani's scattershot style.
An investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion between Moscow and Trump's campaign has loomed large over the Trump presidency amid media reports of his team's connections with Russian Federation. The letter of intent was also quite detailed. And TV networks have not shown any reluctance to book Giuliani, despite his unreliability, because of his rock-solid resume and the lack of any Trump surrogates willing to appear on a cable network that is not Fox News.
"Absolutely. I am afraid it will be on my gravestone".
Rudy Giuliani speaks to members of the media during a White House Sports and Fitness Day at the South Lawn of the White House, May 30, 2018. "But, if it is, so what do I care?"
