Rudy Giuliani, one of President Trump’s personal lawyers, said Sunday he didn’t think Trump knew about a May 2016 meeting between Trump ally Roger Stone and a Russian national promising damaging information on former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
“I doubt it. I certainly didn’t know about it. It’s news to me,” Giuliani said during an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
On #CNNSOTU the President’s attorney Rudy Giuliani says that he doubts @realDonaldTrump was aware of Roger Stone’s meeting with a Russian national first reported in @washingtonpost https://t.co/szqH2MRIrF
— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) June 17, 2018
Stone, a former Nixon administration official, and Michael Caputo, an ex-Trump campaign aide, were approached by a Russian national named Henry Greenberg, who offered political dirt on Clinton in exchange for $2 million in a meeting with Stone in Florida in May before the election, according to the Washington Post.
Stone and Caputo told the Post they believe they were set up by anti-Trump U.S. law enforcement. Greenberg claimed to be a longtime FBI informant, but whether he interacted with Stone on behalf of the FBI remains unclear. The pair also assert that the meeting was fruitless, per the newspaper.
The meeting was revealed as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing Russia investigation.
Giuliani reiterated on Sunday his wish to see a probe into what prompted Mueller’s appointment by the Justice Department.
“I believe that the Mueller investigation should be investigated, not because necessarily of Mueller but because of its genesis in this very, very now, completely, almost illegal and unethical probe, this Russia probe,” Giuliani said.
Giuliani: “I believe the the Mueller investigation should be investigated. Not because necessarily of Mueller but because of its genesis in this, very, very now, completely, almost illegal and unethical probe, this Russia probe” https://t.co/4wS92KcqNp https://t.co/KK5HeIh5lc
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) June 17, 2018
Giuliani added that Trump would not issue pardons related to Mueller’s work while the investigation was still being conducted.
“The president is not going to issue pardons in this investigation,” he said. “When it’s over? Hey, he’s the president of the United States, he retains his pardon power.”
