Whatever you think about the Democratic impeachment inquiry (I have concerns), Congress was justified on Monday in subpoenaing Rudy Giuliani for documents on his Ukrainian activities.
The key here is for Congress to ascertain whether Giuliani has improperly pressured Ukrainian officials in efforts to damage Joe Biden’s presidential bid. Democrats suggest President Trump orchestrated Giuliani into leveraging Ukraine’s cooperation by holding up aid appropriated to it. This is the foundation of the ongoing Democratic impeachment investigation. As the subpoena letter observes, Giuliani has said he has messages showing U.S. government officials supported his Ukrainian activities.
We need to know more about this.
Giuliani’s messages can provide critical context as to whether Trump is being truthful that he had no quid pro quo engagement with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine.
If Giuliani’s messages show no order from Trump to threaten Ukraine’s aid access, that will lend weight to Trump’s claims that Democrats are engaged in another “witch hunt” here. But if Giuliani has been pressuring Ukrainian officials to find dirt on Biden in return for access to U.S. aid, we need to know if Trump had any role in that pressure.
Whether ordered by Trump or freelanced by Giuliani, it would be utterly unacceptable for a private citizen to usurp the lawfully executed will of Congress (appropriating the aid) for personal interests.
The basic truth here is that Giuliani is front and center in this entire saga. Good government demands that he share more detail on what he has been up to. That’s what this subpoena achieves.
