A theory presented on MSNBC suggests Rudy Giuliani changed his tune Monday, declaring openly that “collusion is not a crime,” because of something he learned in relation to former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort’s trial set to start Tuesday.
Daniel Goldman, a former assistant U.S. attorney, offered “pure conjecture” when he drew out the possibility that Giuliani, a member of President Trump’s legal team, learned from Manafort’s lawyers “a little bit about what Rick Gates is going to say about collusion” and therefore embarked on a sometimes self-contradictory media blitz Monday.
“And they’re now trying to get out in front of this by not denying there is collusion but by saying it is not a crime,” Goldman postulated after noting that it would be “too simplistic and too incorrect even for someone like Rudolph Giuliani” to not be shifting his strategy. He said Manafort’s attorneys have Gates’ prior statements and all of his interviews with Mueller and his team.
Daniel Goldman, former assistant U.S. attorney, presents an interesting theory on why the Trump team has suddenly switched to the “collusion is not a crime” talking point. pic.twitter.com/Zvs5tCROtc
— Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) July 31, 2018
Gates, who like Manafort was a senior official on Trump’s campaign, has pledged to fully cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller as part of a plea agreement related to two felony charges stemming from the federal Russia investigation, which is looking into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin.
Goldman conceded that such a revelation would not likely come up at the trial Tuesday as Mueller’s team pledged not to bring forward evidence related to collusion at the Virginia trial.
In this case, Manafort will be on trial for bank fraud and tax crime charges. Manafort has pleaded not guilty.
Gates was brought up Monday by Giuliani as a supposed attendee at a pre-planning meeting on June 7, 2016, ahead of a the infamous Trump Tower meeting between members of Trump’s inner circle and a Russian lawyer who has offered dirt on Hillary Clinton. Giuliani later denied the meeting ever took place and suggested that it was made up by Trump’s longtime attorney Michael Cohen.
