Rudy Giuliani’s diplomatic backchannel was both ‘irregular’ and ‘outlandish’

Rudy Giuliani, Gordon Sondland, and others created a diplomatic backchannel to conduct foreign policy in Ukraine that actively undermined U.S. interests in Eastern Europe. And the Republicans’ best defense is: “It might be irregular, but it’s not outlandish.”

Acting Ambassador William Taylor testified during Wednesday’s public impeachment hearing that Giuliani’s involvement in Ukraine policy was troubling to many of the official, “regular” diplomats, including himself. It was clear to Taylor that Giuliani was pushing an agenda that had nothing to do with the national interest and everything to do with President Trump’s personal political interests.

It’s this last part that alarmed Taylor. It’s not unusual for the U.S. government to take into consideration the opinions of private citizens, such as Giuliani, when conducting foreign policy. But it is highly unusual for the aforementioned private citizen to influence and shape policy in a way that directly undermines the national interest.

The House Republicans’ counsel, Steve Castor, attempted to dismiss criticisms of Giuliani’s involvement by pointing out the diplomatic qualifications of Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, and Energy Secretary Rick Perry. But these qualifications are irrelevant to the bigger question: Why were they involved in Ukraine in the first place?

It wasn’t to push a legitimate national interest, as Taylor has testified. Because if that were the case, Giuliani, Sondland, and the rest would not have seen any need to circumvent the system and go behind the State Department’s back.

It was this circumvention that Taylor found “problematic.” But because Giuliani could not be held accountable under government guidelines, there was little Taylor could do besides express his concern to his superiors. And he did just that, confronting Sondland and Kurt Volker directly when he believed things had gotten out of control.

This backchannel was corrupt, and if Republicans want to clear Trump’s name, they’ll need a better defense than “It was bad, but not that bad.”