President Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani unloaded about the whistleblower complaint filed against Trump and his role in the controversy.
Giuliani, described as “very angry,” told the Atlantic Thursday that he will emerge from the furor over the whistleblower complaint and impeachment inquiry into Trump as “a hero.”
He said: “It is impossible that the whistle-blower is a hero and I’m not. And I will be the hero! These morons—when this is over, I will be the hero.”
Giuliani was speaking after acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire testified before the House Intelligence Committee. The complaint, which was also released Thursday, alleges that Trump improperly pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to work with Giuliani to investigate political rival Joe Biden.
“I’m not acting as a lawyer. I’m acting as someone who has devoted most of his life to straightening out government,” Giuliani said. “Anything I did should be praised.”
The former New York mayor, who has in the past been heavily praised by Trump allies, was asked about comments made anonymously about him. One White House official referred to the entire Ukraine scandal as “Rudy putting shit in Trump’s head.”
“They’re a bunch of cowards,” Giuliani said. “I didn’t do anything wrong. The president knows they’re a bunch of cowards.”
He said that all of the information he has been working to dig up on the Bidens, including alleged wrongdoing by Joe Biden while serving as vice president, was factual.
At the center of the complaint is a July 25 call between Trump and Zelensky where he pushed the Ukrainian leader to dig into Biden. The transcript of that call was released Wednesday amid political pressure.
The whistleblower’s identity is not yet known, although he reportedly works for the CIA and was detailed to the White House for a period of time. The whistleblower gleaned information about the call from another source privy to the conversation. Trump lashed out against whoever gave the whistleblower information Thursday, reportedly saying that the person was “close to a spy” and alluded to the “old days” when punishment was handled differently.
