Rudy Giuliani’s pledge to end the Russia investigation “in a week or two” came crashing down to earth on Wednesday after The Washington Post reported that the former New York City mayor met with Robert Mueller.
According to The Post, “Rudolph W. Giuliani, President Trump’s new personal lawyer dealing with the ongoing probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, met with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III on Tuesday to reopen negotiations for a presidential interview, Âaccording to three people familiar with the talks.”
In other words, Mueller is still trying to negotiate an interview with Trump. That means his investigation isn’t weeks away from ending – it’s likely months away.
Not to mention the fact that the presidential interview with Trump will only lead to the conclusion of one portion of the investigation – the obstruction aspect.
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There is still no apparent timetable for the rest of investigation, which centers around Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election, and whether the Trump campaign coordinated with them to defeat Hillary Clinton.
As former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti said on All In with Chris Hayes on Wednesday, Giuliani’s initial proclamation to bring a swift end to Mueller’s investigation was always a joke.
Former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti explains why Rudy Giuliani’s meeting with Robert Mueller shows that the Russia probe is not wrapping up anytime soon. #inners #ctl #p2 #Trump pic.twitter.com/sXlje8rRwm
— PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) April 26, 2018
Mariotti explained what the Giuliani-Mueller meeting means going forward:
Giuliani’s proclamations that he was going to end the Mueller investigation within two weeks are just that, you know, proclamations that have no basis in reality. He got nowhere beyond where John Dowd went. Mueller is not wrapping up the investigation anytime soon. He wants to wrap up the obstruction piece of the investigation but he wants to interview Trump before he does that which makes a lot of sense. Any prosecutor would want to interview them in this circumstance. And, really, Giuliani is not going to be able to work any kind of magic. Either Trump sits for the interview or ends up taking the fifth after being subpoenaed. Those are his choices.
Mueller will not end the investigation until the job is done
Every step of the way, Donald Trump has tried to derail or undermine the Russia investigation, whether it was through his firing of high-level FBI officials, his repeated efforts to remove Robert Mueller as special counsel, or even his frequent early-morning Twitter ramblings.
All the while, Mueller hasn’t flinched. Instead, he has done the job he was given since he was appointed last year: Follow the facts wherever they may lead.
Right now, Trump and his loyalists are scared as Mueller turns over more stones than they were hoping.
If Rudy Giuliani – a man whose chief skills are race-baiting and tragedy exploiting – is their only hope, then they’re in more trouble than we thought.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
