Giuliani's history raises legal questions as he takes on Trump defense

[DonViejo]

The former New York City mayor and federal prosecutor may be a witness in the Russia probe, and has other entanglements that could complicate his new role.

By JOSH GERSTEIN and DARREN SAMUELSOHN 04/21/2018 06:48 AM EDT

As a prominent surrogate for Donald Trump's 2016 campaign, Rudy Giuliani was an active purveyor of pre-election leaks about the FBI probe into Hillary Clinton's emails. As a member of Trump's transition, he played a political role during a period central to Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.

But Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow says those details present no known obstacle to the former New York mayor joining Trump's legal team.

"There are no conflicts at all regarding the representation of the president by Mayor Giuliani that would impact anything involving this case," Sekulow told POLITICO on Friday.

Giuliani was announced as Trump's newest counsel this week amid an escalating federal investigation into longtime Trump Organization lawyer Michael Cohen, whose office and apartment were raided earlier this month. But Giuliani, who's known Mueller for decades, has said his job is to speed along the Russia probe, which encompasses questions of whether Trump tried to obstruct justice, including negotiations about Trump's participation in an interview.

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https://www.politico.com/story/2018/04/21/giuliani-trump-defense-questions-544703

[gordianot]

1. Gulianis presence and spittal raises the creep factor for Trump.

Rudy is one of the few people on Earth that might be creepier than Trump.

[Eyeball_Kid]

3. Didn't Rudy audition for "Killer Klowns from Outer Space"? Or was that Bannon?

I can't keep up. Compared to everyday news over the past couple of years, Killer Klowns reads like a crumpled shopping list that fell out of a back pocket.

[Eyeball_Kid]

2. Rudy the Jewel may lose his license over this misadventure. Or... is he Trumpy's Brutus?

He's a subject and may eventually become a TARGET of the Mueller probe. That he is now representing Trumpy is as conflicted an interest as you can get. People who love Rudy like cats love swimming can file an ethics complaint and run Rudy up a flagpole.

On the other hand, there's an outside chance that Guiliani is getting involved to mollify Trumpy and keep him from blowing up the Justice Department by massive firings to end the probe. In terms of FUNCTION, Guiliani is beginning to display the same influence as our secret pal, Ty Cobb, who strung Trumpy along with unrealistic promises of a fast end to the probe, that would have finished by last Thanksgiving, then by Christmas, then by year's end, etc. Cobb employed a delaying tactic to keep Trumpy from thundering through the DOJ and firing everyone in sight. Cobb KNEW that his promises were empty. He's a lawyer, for fuck's sake. He knows Mueller, and knows that Mueller is the master of his own timeline.

Cobb had to convince Trumpy that HE could have influence over Mueller. Now, Cobb's credibility with Trumpy MUST be on the wane, so now comes Rudy, equally determined to mollify Trumpy into passivity in the genuine interests of preserving Mueller's probe. But it's difficult to tell, for certain, that Rudy is playing the role of a double agent. After all, he DID state, in 2016, that the 11/2016 election would be the LAST US election in history. And he DID put on his best Snidely Whiplash routine when he disclosed the unveiling of the October Surprise. So he's got an ample supply of evil leaking out of his spleen. But there's an unverified backstory to his recent alleged communications with the Mueller team that he may issue an indictment with Rudy's name on it. Allegedly, Rudy was begging Mueller to work with him on a plea deal for Rudy himself, offering damning information on Trumpy's collusion with Russia. Reportedly, Mueller laughed him off, indicating that Mueller doesn't need Rudy's pearls of wisdom, that Mueller already knows everything Rudy knows. So, if we follow this fantasy logic off a cliff, we can reasonably conclude that Rudy is trying to kiss up to Mueller by clandestinely supporting him, thus appealing to Mueller to go easy on him when the shit hits the fan.

Now, I understand that all of the above sounds more like bad fiction that would be laughed out of a sixth grade classroom. BUT... what has happened since Trumpy entered national political life that DOESN'T sound like bad fiction? I rest my case.