Rudy Giuliani, one of President Trump’s most vocal personal lawyers, on Wednesday doubled down on his client’s calls for special counsel Robert Mueller to bring his federal Russia investigation to a conclusion.
“We believe that the investigation should be brought to a close,” Giuliani told reporters Wednesday. “I guess if we were playing poker, we’re not, but we’d say, ‘Put up or shut up. What do you got?'”
“We have every reason to believe they don’t have anything,” he added.
“We believe that the investigation should be brought to a close… Put up or shut up, what do you got?” President Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani addresses special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election https://t.co/rb0nOgoi5Y pic.twitter.com/gXV6YdWaeY
— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) August 1, 2018
Giuliani, as well as many congressional Republicans, has implored Mueller to “wrap up” his Russia probe. But Giuliani’s comments Wednesday came after Trump took to Twitter earlier in the day to say that Attorney General Jeff Sessions should immediately end the “rigged witch hunt.”
“This is a terrible situation,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Attorney General Jeff Sessions should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now, before it continues to stain our country any further.”
Facing backlash over the statements, the White House later on Wednesday defended Trump, claiming the remarks did not constitute an obstruction of justice.
“The president is not obstructing, he’s fighting back,” press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters. “The president is stating his opinion, he’s stating it clearly, [and] there’s a reason the president’s angry. Frankly, many Americans are angry as well.”
[More: Rudy Giuliani: Robert Mueller ‘should put up or shut up’ before 2018 midterms]
