Did Rudy Giuliani just announce to the world that Donald Trump colluded with Russia in order win the U.S. presidency in 2016?
After Trump has spent the last several years tweeting and saying in public “no collusion†every chance he gets, his television lawyer may have just admitted on Fox & Friends that there was indeed “collusion†but that it is not a crime.
“Giuliani: “Collusion is not a crime”
Giuliani: "Collusion is not a crime" https://t.co/iTblLSfMXm pic.twitter.com/pgz1kLTpv7
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— The Hill (@thehill) July 30, 2018
Appearing on Fox on Monday morning the former New York City mayor said:
“I have been sitting here looking in the federal code trying to find collusion as a crime. Collusion is not a crime.â€
Giuliani also said that his client Donald Trump is “absolutely innocent†and that the recently released audio recording of conversations between Trump and his former lawyer Michael Cohen “prove that he didn’t do anything wrong.â€
Trump has not been formally accused of anything in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s wide-ranging investigation into Russian election interference and has even been told by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein that he is not a target of the investigation.
Trump’s attacks on Robert Mueller, Rod Rosenstein and the FBI have intensified in recent months in his attempts to destroy the credibility of the law enforcement agencies and their investigations into Trump’s alleged crimes. He as dismissed the special counsel’s Russia probe as a “witch hunt†and has said dozens of times that there is “no collusion.â€
It is widely known, however, that Mueller is not just looking for possible collusion but is gathering evidence into crimes such as witness tampering, obstruction of justice, money laundering and tax evasion.
Several former Trump campaign officials have already been indicted for similar crimes and some have pleaded guilty. Trump’s former campaign manager and longtime associate Paul Manafort has been charged with many crimes including tax evasion, money laundering, bank fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy against the United States. Manafort’s criminal charges, however, relate to things he did before joining the Trump campaign. The first of his two scheduled criminal trials will start tomorrow.
Michael Cohen is also under federal and state criminal investigation in New York for his alleged financial crimes and campaign finance violations.
On Monday Giuliani tried to focus the discussion on the recently released audio recordings of Trump conversations which Cohen secretly recorded.
“That might be a punishable offense, for all those morons out there,†Giuliani said, referring to members of the media who have reported on the tapes but have not addressed their possible illegality (which is unclear).
Stormy Daniels attorney Michael Avenatti once said that every time Rudy Giuliani opens his mouth it helps Daniels’ case. By saying “collusion is not a crime†Donald Trump’s attorney seems to have admitted on national television that collusion in fact did exist, and it did help his client become president.
Here is what one commentator had to say today about Rudy’s performance:
“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.”
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
Sometimes when you listen to Rudy Giuliani speak you have to wonder whose side he is on. Clearly his comments on Fox & Friends today did nothing to help his client’s case.Â
I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.
