President Trump likes to point the finger at deep state operatives and stubborn Democrats when things don’t go his way. But Trump’s worst enemy might be the guy he has on speed dial: Rudy Giuliani.
There’s a reason most lawyers don’t speak to the press or public about the clients they represent. Words can be skewed, intentions twisted, and the result might just be an inadvertent implication. Well, Giuliani doesn’t just talk openly about his big client — namely, the president of the United States. He talks about him on national television over and over and over again, and the result is never good.
Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer, admitted on Fox News last night that Trump had directed him to speak to Ukrainian leaders about investigating Joe Biden, who, when he was vice president, asked Ukraine to fire an allegedly corrupt prosecutor. That prosecutor also happened to be investigating Biden’s son for cronyist business dealings, which led to important questions about conflict of interest and quid pro quo corruption.
Giuliani claimed the State Department had asked him, and not the FBI, to speak to Ukraine because the intelligence agency is “flawed.” (The State Department has yet to confirm this allegation.) He then held up his cell phone and yelled, “I’m a pretty good lawyer, just a country lawyer, but it’s all here, right here. The first call from the State Department.”
If what Giuliani said is true, Trump might have a bigger problem on his hands than his lawyer’s incompetence. Why is the State Department outsourcing its diplomacy? That raises all kinds of national security red flags, none of which should be ignored.
Despite what he might think, Giuliani is not a good lawyer — at least, not anymore. This is the guy that went on live television last year and announced to the whole world that Trump reimbursed Michael Cohen the $130,000 he had paid to buy Stormy Daniels’ silence, the ultimate result being Cohen’s conviction.
Giuliani might very well be the reason Trump got involved in this Ukraine disaster. At least one U.S. official said as much to the Washington Post. Like the Cohen business, this just goes to show that a Giuliani isn’t thinking about Trump’s best interests. He only ever has one concern: how the given situation makes Rudy Giuliani look.
Perhaps that’s why he and Trump get along so well. Or perhaps it’s because Trump values Giuliani’s loyalty and isn’t willing to give it up, even if it compromises his presidency.
Enough is enough. Giuliani will continue to inject himself into complicated situations he has no business being in, and Trump will suffer as a result. At a certain point, not even loyalty can excuse gross incompetence. Giuliani needs to go.
