Someone gave that poor man way way too much rope.
1
I still can't tell if DJT picking Rudy is complete stupidity or genius. On the one hand with Rudy, it's like watching a train wreck - you can't take yours eyes off of it. That serves as a welcome distraction, and cover, for DJT. On the other hand, Rudy, clearly, has lost any sense of right and wrong, is completely a different person than when he was at SDNY, and is not always coherent. What a tremendous fall. Either way, he has become a circus sideshow.
7
Rudy could have gone out like DiMaggio, but he chose to go out like Paul Manafort.
10
If Giuliani ever had any dignity, it is all gone now. He is a very sad excuse for a lawyer, and an even sadder excuse for a man.
7
Is there anyone on the political field of play as crazy as the deeply mentally ill Donald J. Trump?
He wallows in self-centered pity and narcissism.
Tells lies great and small. All the time.
Cruel and abusive.
Right Reverend Pence seems to exhibit delusional behavior.
Baghdad Bob Huckabee Sanders exhibits the same mania for lying, unapologetically, without any showing of conscience or self-consciousness.
DeVos? Bolton? Pompous Pompeo?
Well Second Place, the Silver Medal goes to Rudy!!
Dishonest, dishonorable (given his prior experience as a Federal prosecutor).
Denying what's already recorded.
Lying about the law.
Lying about the facts.
Senility?
Vanity?
Regardless, he will be remembered in history as a corrupt villain in the telling of the exploits of the Trump Crime Family.
A younger Robert Duval would be perfect in the movie.
6
[[“There was no collusion by President Trump in any way, shape or form,” Mr. Giuliani said.]]
They both obviously are lying.
The tone of the statement is identical to “I did NOT have sexual relations with that woman...Miss Lewinsky.”
And we know how that turned out for Clinton.
3
@Third.coast It might well be true. The candidate conspired with Russian agents - he was not yet president.
Can people not see what is happening here? Once the facts come out, we'll get the "collusion is not a crime" defense, plus "it had to be done, Hilary emails, blah, blah" and finally "what are you going to about it anyway?". This is all smoke to confuse everyone. We need to call it what it is: Treason. Language matters.
4
Whatever Trump is paying Giuliani, it is not enough, as he was as Mayor of New York on that terrible day of the cowardly attack on the Twin Towers a true American hero, whose swift response and organizational skills saved many lives. He is now showing himself in the worst possible way as Cohen’s replacement, Trumps fixer. Giuliani does not come over well when it is obvious that he is attempting to bend the truth to fit the latest news on what Mueller knows. Giuliani should go back to New York, and the President should stick to what he is good at, Selling Snake Oil.
3
I offer my best effort at paraphrasing Mr. Giuliani's evolving statements on the Trump / Russia affair:
There was no collusion by anyone in the Trump campaign. Even if there was collusion, that isn't a crime. If there was collusion, Trump himself wasn't involved. I never said no one in the campaign was involved in collusion.
There you have it, a prime example of how everyone who gets pulled into Trump's orbit for defensive purposes becomes a lying, pathetic clownish figure, like Trump himself.
3
This guy's all over the map. He always leads with one thing, then after hearing blowback on Fox News, starts cranking the pedals backward and issues another "truer" assessment of his thoughts. I used to think November 8, 2016 represented the beginning of the end of America, but after 2 years of Trump and the oddly assembled motley crew he calls his cabinet and advisors - the only thing ending is the GOP. And to that I say, "GOOD RIDDANCE!!!"
1
“I have no knowledge of collusion involving the campaign, nor does the president,” Mr. Giuliani told The Times on Thursday. “However, I only represent the president, and that’s all I can speak for.”
Please note that Mr. Giuliani said "that's" all he could speak for. Not "he's" but "that's." This suggests what I have had suspicions about all along: The President is an android. A malevolent one. Probably built in Russia.
"The lady doth protest too much, methinks." The quote from Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 2, could apply to the lack of credibility in statements made by "Rudy the G."
His actions and words the past several years make me believe that he has been "purchased" by trumpy's Russian handlers or, worse, that he is "not right in the head."
It's time for him to ride off into the sunset.
3
I really didn’t think there ever could be a greater sleeze than Trump. Well, I was wrong; Giuliani even exceeds Trump in this regard. There is so much reasonable objection to shame; but to reject shame entirely does not, we can now see in Giuliani, serve the good in any way. Giuliani, unfortunately, seems to act publically in a way that shame is irrelevant ... and it is truly disgusting and against the nation’s truly noble goals to serve.
The double speak of Rudy Giuliani makes him even more odious and reprehensible than Donald Trump. There was a time that Rudolph Giuliani was respected as the mayor who kept morale high during 9/11. Now as a TV lawyer for Donald Trump , he is nothing more than a buffoon and a clown, who in the most cavalier way, contradicts himself every third week and now evidently, every third day. Hasn't anyone bothered to tell him how ridiculous he looks? He must think that the American people are even dumber than the President of United States...
And we will see how smart Rudy Giuliani is when Robert Mueller's findings come out. I have a feeling he's going to have to swallow every word of Mr. Mueller's report when it is finally revealed.
1
Is this some weird strategy and everything is an act to Rudy. Hope he is paid well for embarrassing himself this way
There is little doubt that Trump & his minions have worked to undermine the best interests of the USA and her allies. When he uttered the words "Russia, if you're listening, " I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was working for the enemy. His continuous attempts to deflect attention from himself have not worked. America is watching and hoping for the end of this nightmarish charade.
1
Isn’t this the pattern ? “No collusion, no collusion “to “ well collusion isn’t a crime anyway “ to “well maybe the some campaign members conspired with the Russians but the president didn’t. “
They look like clowns . I’m sure Trump is guilty. The question of course is whether or not Trump incriminated himself with proof . He doesn’t send emails and I wouldn’t be surprised if the message to his campaign was “ do whatever you want , just don’t tell me “,
Mr. Giuliani was past his prime well before 9-11. Why people like him don't retire and contemplate the universe is beyond me. He is to be pitied -- and potentially investigated for his own interactions with foreign entities.
1
Sorry, but I'm tired. What is the purpose of then lie, counter lie? Obfuscation.
1
What about when Trump invited Russia to hack Hillary's campaign, and then they did the next day? Pure coincidence? Just like the coincidence that Trump's financing has been coming from Russia for years?
2
Can we sentence Guilliani too? It may not be against the law to be phony or a sycophant, but this guy's shameless and consistent attempts to defraud the public are criminal.
2
I hope mr mueller can keep track of his facts better than trump, giuliani, and the dishonest White House staff does of their lies. There is a web of prevarications so tangled that it will take a tome to index them all.
I’m not surprised the special counsel’s investigation is still underway given the effort it must require to put the fats and evidence in order for what will surely be a complicated and horrid tale of how the election and the country were hijacked by a corrupt individual with an equally corrupt supporting cast of characters. Their names are an alphabet of woe.
Is there a prison sufficiently large for the ultimate incarceration of every one of them?
1
If nothing else, it's remains bizarre that Trump publicly asked Russia during the debate to find Clinton's emails. Why Russia? Why not China? Or Ecuador? Or Andorra?
That in itself is a pretty strong indication that Trump was deep in cahoots with Putin. As do so many of Trump's words and actions over the last two years.
1
"Cognitive dissonance" might be a meaningless concept when applied to Rudy. That's where the man lives, all day every day.
I have wondered if Rudy would be in prison, in a perfect world. I think so. There would be no other appropriate place for him. In our world, he's a source of national news. That is scary.
1
That was bad news for Trump but it just got worse ,according to Buzzfeed Trump directed Cohen to lie to congress which is a crime by Trump according to Barr AG nominee. Come back out Rudy and explain this latest fiasco. GOP needs to find candidates for 2020 as Trump may not be available.
@REBCO For anyone who has been watching Trump at all for the last few decades, it should be obvious that Cohen's accusations are but a couple of threads, and that before it is over a whole world of Trump's weaved-up crimes and misdemeanors will have been raveled out. Mueller has doubtless found so many Trump crimes, such depth of criminality, that he will have no choice but to indict him. While the media was broadcasting every lie out of candidate Trump's mouth, it had almost nothing to say about the suit by 'Jane Doe' v Epstein and Tump. That action was marked 'withdrawn' (not 'settled') a day or so after the election, without any court record of Trump even responding to the suit. Does anyone doubt that Trump bought her off too? And if he did, was it not as much a campaign contribution violation as his Stormy Daniel payments? When the Jane Doe matter sees the light again, congressional Republican support for Trump will totally evaporate. Between the feds and the various states that will indict him, some judge will surely decide that justice demands that a crook who has skated his entire life, a person utterly without a decent bone in his body, simply has to be locked up.
1
Collusion is not really collusion;
Lies are not really lies.
Really?
1
Let me be crystal clear: I never didn’t not say that no collusion did not occur between nobody not working not for Trump campaign and Russia.
5
This reminds me of lyrics from an old song:
Rudy's on a train to nowhere, halfway down the line...
Pretty sad for someone who used to have some kind of standing in the US. Unfortunately he hitched his ride onto a falling 'star.' I know it's just my bias, but I really dislike seeing people refer to Trump as a 'reality TV star'. Is his presence in 'the Apprentice' really what counts as a 'star'? Could standards get any lower? That so many people seem to base their opinion -- and admiration -- of Trump based on that series boggles the mind of most of us in the rest of the world.
3
I love when Giuliani's interviews are compared to food. Particularly word salads. This one is definitely a Caesar.
2
With all of the ambiguous statements and allegations made by Giuliani, on behalf of Trump, it's time for Giuliani to be investigated by the appropriate Grievance Committee to ascertain if he violated for any of the statements he has made, and all actions he has undertaken, on Trump's behalf.
It's a sad that Giuliani is merely a former shell of the attorney he used to be when he was a US Attorney.
1
Even if dt did not personally know about it, it makes the election null & void. He lost the popular vote. Throw him out, along with Kavanaugh, Gorsuch, and any laws and executive orders he signed. Erase the stain he's put on our country.
80
" There is not a single bit of evidence the president of the United States committed the only crime you could commit here, conspired with the Russians to hack” the Democratic National Committee."
He later clarified further; "I said there is no evidence that the president of the United States conspired with the Russians. At the time of the campaign, of course, Mr. Trump was not the president of the United States."
21
I think these two statements more or less say it all.
I will wait for Robert Mueller’s report, thank you.
If Manaforte Trump’s campaign manager was feeding polling data to the Russians it was for one purpose and one purpose only ; for the Russians to know the exact precincts in swing states where they would need to post the social media propaganda . Isn’t that what happened and what helped Trump in those precincts?
And the way Trump is such an obsessive micro manager that has to know everything and control everything are we really to believe that he wasn’t told or aware of any of this ? And this is what we know only from what Manaforte’s lawyers accidentally leaked by mistakenly not redacting . Mueller may have much more .
27
The unredeemable villain simply must tell Adam West about his or her grand malevolent scheme to subjugate the world--giving Batman the time he needs to escape. This doesn't of course make Trump and his gang of second-raters any less guilty. Mr. Mueller and his team of exemplary public servants and professionals are on the case: Bam! Zowie! Oof!
12
“Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.” Oh, yeah, no evidence of collusion with Russia other than an internationally broadcast solicitation that was immediately met with an attempt by Russian hackers to infiltrate Clinton's email servers. The king not only wears no clothes, but his court jester is buck naked as well!
38
Stop and no no don't, it is the lie counter lie. Looking tp the future.
2
I honestly expect a future news report about Mr. Giuliani saying that Trump doesn’t need to be prosecuted for his crimes, because not everybody is prosecuted … as everyone knows. Or about the difficulty of jailing an ex-president and no one wants that, then looking to see if I’m reading “The Onion” or the “New York Times”. It’s really hard to tell them apart when Mr. Giuliani is involved.
23
Giuliani's next line of defense for Trump: Collusion = Confusion + Illusion
21
Giuliani's comment on Thursday about "the campaign and people in the campaign": "Likewise, I have no knowledge of any collusion by any of the thousands of people who worked on the campaign."
That does not sound like a full-throated retraction of the earlier statement, which was "I never said there was no collusion between the campaign or people in the campaign".
If you read carefully, "I never said there was no collusion" and "I have no knowledge of any collusion" really mean the same thing.
There is something he knows that he doesn't want us to know that he knows.
8
Trump's consistent ability to stain everything he comes in contact with demonstrates a desire to accomplish this very fact. How is he always diminishing the public opinion of those who serve under him, it's his goal. Granted, this was glaringly obvious long before Rudy got involved with the President, so he deserves no pity. But the 100% success rate that Donald J. Trump has with dirtying people, shows a skill set seldom seen in others.
11
“... the only crime you could commit here, conspired with the Russians to hack” the Democratic National Committee.'
Way to narrow the range of possible criminal behavior here--he's saying that unless someone in the campaign hacked the DNC, specifically, that nothing happened? I don't think the leading theories of a criminal conspiracy are exclusive to DNC hacks. But on the plus side, at least he's acknowledging that the actual criminal issue at hand is conspiracy, rather than "collusion."
4
...referring to discredited conspiracy theories that the president and his allies have long cited, “The only knowledge I have in this regard is the collusion of the Clinton campaign with Russia, which has so far been ignored.”
Where has this been discredited? Also, the $12 million laundered through Perkins Coie to Fusion GPS was an undisclosed campaign expense which is an FEC violation.
In all fairness to Rudy, it’s hard to lie fast enough to keep up with Trump.
17
Barr yesterday in trying to walk back his obvious bias about the Mueller investigation defined obstruction of justice as an attempt to alter the evidence in a criminal investigation. That's exactly what Trump did regarding the meeting at Trump tower with the Russians.
12
Does Donald Trump really think Giuliani is doing him any good? The best thing Giuliani did for Trump was to not allow him to be questioned under oath.
6
@Tenkan The FBI have developed a truth detector, it is a reverse version of the ones normally used. When Trump is questioned they will be able to pick out the rare true answers Trump gives. If your President told me the sun was shining I would look out of the window to check.
Sounds like some people are having trouble getting their stories straight.
9
Giuliani: "I didn't say what he said. He said what she said, and then he said what I said. She said what I said, and then he said what I said, which is what she said. So therefore, I didn't say what I said."
8
@Matt
Rudnangry Ghouliani quote: Truth isn't truth.
Did he get this line from the Ministry of Truth where Winston Smith used to work before he got busted by Big Brother?
2
Gee, have we seen this before? Deny til you get caught, then admit you knew a little, then declare you did what you did but it wasn't illegal. Seems like this is getting pretty routine for this administration. How, how, how do we get rid of them before 2020???
13
Stop using Trump’s words. This allows him to set the boundaries of the narrative. Let’s call it what it is.
It’s not fake news. It’s a set of verifiable facts which expose you for the liar you are.
It’s not collusion. It’s treason.
It’s time to control the narrative.
22
@Scott
Yes, it is a great flaw in human nature to be so afraid to call a 'thing' what is really is.
Albert Camus, a well revered French writer, wrote a great novel about this inability to face reality called "The Plague," regarding the human tendency to dance endlessly around the truth while avoiding any attempt to punch through the the fog of delusion to "grok"* the truth of how things really are.
*Grok, a Martian term from Robert Heinlein's seminal sci-fi novel, Stranger in a Strange Land, which means to understand something profoundly and intuitively.
For example: Ghouliani, though Italian, probably wouldn't even really be able to grok pizza, unless you slapped him in the face with one.
1
@Scott
No it is not Treason. The crime here is conspiracy with an Adversary to commit election fraud. Please refrain from using hyperbolic terms. They are not applicable in a court of law. And that's really what we have here. A well known grifter who does not think the law applies to him. This has always been about fight over the rule of law and weather or not the public allows this to take place.
1
Putin and his Russian government are succeeding in undermining what used to be the greatest country in the world and breaking up the western alliances.
What better way for a hostile foreign power to undermine a country than to sow disinformation and division between citizens (RNC) and to make sure that the country's citizens are armed to the teeth (NRA).
The Republican party is a party of traitors, whether they know it or not.
10
Should Giuliani be sued for malpractice or disbarred? Both. Maybe Trump keeps him around because Giuliani is the one guy on the team who is actually dumber than him. And what a team it is! The witless leading the grifters, and vice versa.
8
Rudy convinced me; the Trump campaign cheated with Russia to turn the election in Trump’s favor. Occam may put his razor away now.
12
Giuliani says the only crime that could be committed is “conspiring with the Russians.” But there is another, more likely crime: “conspiring with Americans to seek illegal assistance from Russia.”
3
Collusion is only illegal if it is part of a criminal conspiracy to commit a crime. Under federal criminal code, a person who colluded with another part to commit a crime would be charged with “conspiracy” to commit a crime. So when people alleged members of the Trump campaign “colluded,” they mean Trump campaign members conspired with Russia or Russian to commit a crime. But no one seems able to say what crime the Trump campaign conspired with Russia or Russians to commit.
Paul Manafort passed campaign poling data to the person who manages his Kiev office and asked him to pass to Ukrainian businessmen who hope persuade the United States to border a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia. That is not a crime.
Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Manafort attended a meeting at Trump Tower in the expectation that a Russian lawyer would present documents incriminating Hillary Clinton. That’s is not a crime.
George Papadopoulos tried to arrange a meeting between Trump and Putin, which is also not a crime.
What is the crime?
@William Case
This has been going on for almost two years and you still have to ask that question? Even Faux News could answer that one for you:
"Chump's campaign conspired with a hostile foreign government to assist and affect the outcome of a Presidential election."
That is illegal, and makes the outcome of the election (Chump, Pence, and the whole Administration) null and void, my friend. 2019 will be quite a wild ride with this cast (out) of characters and keystone cops! Mueller is sharpening his pen after dulling it drafting all the indictments that are still forthcomng.
2
Giuliani has always been on a big ego trip and no doubt he viewed Trump as a private sector version of himself. If not for 9/11 Giuliani would have left office a broken man who had nervous breakdown on the evening news announcing his divorce to his wife. Without the veneer of office and 18 years after 9/11 he still has the need to make headlines and we know the rest...
6
One day Rudy is going to backpedal so much that he will trip over his lies and fall on his back.
10
Arguably he has already!
Time for Hillary to sue Trump and Rudy for libel and slander. As a public figure it's an extremely high burden, but clearly she has the evidence. If they aren't acting with actual malice, they sure are recklessly disregarding the truth. It's obvious our congress won't do the job of reining these lunatics in, so maybe the Court system will.
5
echoes of frankie pentangeli.
2
So the latest stories going around from Trump and Russia is that "Trump is not an agent of Russia."
There has been no denials that Trump might be an "agent of Putin!"
6
I said this when he came aboard the Trump legal team last year: Just when you think it could not get any stupider, along comes Rudy Giuliani.
9
Hard to not notice that Trump constantly says "There was no collusion" but never mentions any of the other crimes he's suspected of, e.g. money laundering, payoffs, kickbacks, corruption, tax dodging, etc. etc.
10
They're really the gang that can't talk straight!
4
Trump and his allies have lied so much and so often they can no longer what they said and to whom.
6
Giuliani has admitted Trump's Campaign conspired with Russia/Putin to interfere with the internal processes of the United States: the federal election of Nov. 2016. The simple truth is the conspiracy is well known and seen in our public discourse everyday. What is not obvious is that the un-registered agent of the Russian/Putin government, Donald J. Trump, was illegally elected as a result of that illegal conspiracy. The Federal Election of 2016 is null and void.
Trump's abuse of the illegally obtained Presidential power has led to the death of many people, the destruction and theft of money and other treasure, and the destruction of the Federal Government. All, probably, in payment for Russian/Putin's help in illegally obtaining the American Presidency.
Bottom line is people died and property was destroyed by the illegal actions stemming from the Trump/Putin conspiracy and they both should be tried for the murders and thefts they have carried out against their respective peoples, and others. These are "Peace Crimes": theft of election, by an unregistered agent of a foreign power and the foreign power itself. In another day they would be hung by the neck until dead. Perhaps it should also apply today.
4
Rudy must be getting a huge amount of money per hour for his time. Good for you Rudy, you are living the American dream.
Unfortunately, you are also fueling an American nightmare.
7
What a pathetic way for Giuliani to end his career - going from "America's mayor" to the political equivalent of a mob lawyer and mouthpiece.
Sad.
135
@Matthew Carnicelli
More like the equivalent of the guy shouting crazy stuff on the subway with whom you do not make eye contact.
9
@Matthew Carnicelli
The GOP, and its most prominent figures, have become unrecognizable over the past 20 or so years. While I may have generally disagreed with their policy ideas and ideology two decades ago they were at least somewhat rational. Now they come across like a bunch of lunatics. They are barely sane.
8
@Matthew Carnicelli I think he should be sued for what he did to the 10,000 people who worked at DREXEL BURNHAM. Instead of prosecuting the felon, Milken, he took down the entire firm and many innocents went down with it.
4
He's a terrible lawyer now. Just like when he and his son sued Duke University over his sons so called golf talent. Ha.
"Duh, OK Tennessee." If you need help remembering what cartoon this is from, "Tennessee Tuxedo will not fail!"
12
Ukrainian Oligarch scrutinized by Mueller was a Giuliani client
OMG! Is there anyone associated with Trump that HASN'T had dealings with the Russians?
And Trump really expects us to believe that he is the only one, out of all the people involved with him, that is clueless about the Russians?
Before the stupidity took over, no one with half a brain would have bought that line!
69
"All's fair in Love, War, and Politics"....
The origin of the phrase "all is fair in love in war" is found in poet John Lyly's novel "Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit," published in 1579.
I believe that Law schools will refer to Rudy Giuliani's pathologic lying and verbal gymnastics for years to come. To listen to him, it would seem that the best lawyers are sociopaths.
I graduated from Rutgers Law School a few years ago, but decided half-way through that my conscience would get in the way of being a "zealous advocate" for my clients. Fortunately, I got my knees fixed so I could continue to be a surgeon till I retired.
Rudy Giuliani is a disgrace to his profession. He was a hero for a time when he cleaned up NYC and helped us through 9/11. He should have retired as well. He's has definitely passed his "use by" date!
48
@doc:
Please be aware that the "clean up" of NYC began under the Dinkins administration. Rudy's needs no more credit than he has already stolen.
6
Too late the backpedaling. Giuliani should run for the hills if it isnt already too late!
13
This guy has twisted around so much he could hide behind a corkscrew. What little reputation Giuliani had was shredded when he went all in with Trump. It's only a matter of time before the Trump bus rolls over him too.
55
Republican Mantra: victimize victims; investigate investigators; admit nothing, blame everyone, cast dispersion; preach honesty and compassion on Sunday, practice lies and corruption on Monday. Morally bankrupt.
90
Seems Rudy G. Is setting up the Sgt. Schultz defense for his client.
41
I really wish the Times would ignore this man. He has nothing of interest or value to add. He's reduced himself to a fictional character. I did not watch the Sopranos the first time around and am currently enjoying it's re running on HBO. Sometimes one wonders, where do these writers come up with these fictional characters? Rudi and Chris Christie and the Don.
27
@M
It is important to document every single lie of this administration so it we can look back on it as nation, and after a lot of soul searching, be able to understand how we enabled such rot and, hopefully, say never again. I hope this country gets back its moral core and can rise to such an occasion.
1
Even his clarfying statement is unclear. So now there is a court jester position? When you make it so complicated, changing statements, contradicting yourself, sure looks like you have no idea what is going on, or that you are pulling a coverup. In Guiliani’s case, both apply. Sad to see someone so lauded after 9/11 fall so far.
19
I will never stop believing something fell on Ghouliani's head on 9/11, because he has been completely unhinged since shortly thereafter.
19
Shortly Giuliani will use the defence, “Sure Trump knowingly colluded with Russia for personal financial gain, but he’s sorry about that and promises never to do it again”
21
No, before that the defense will be that Trump *unknowingly* colluded with the Russians — you know, they put one over on him.
When it comes to admitting complicity or admitting stupidity, if there are legal consequences to admitting complicity stupidity wins every time.
2
This Liberal believes that Trump didn't collude in the hacking crime.
That's a no brainer.
He doesn't even know how to use a computer.
But, if you know I robbed a bank and if you benefited from my crime AND you don't tell the authorities AND and you obstruct any authorities that are investigating my robbery…
Then, you are guilty as sin.
You didn't help me rob the bank, you didn't collude with me in the crime, but you know about it and you benefited from my crime.
You and Trump are GUILTY!!
And Trump's campaign, with his knowledge, may have coordinated with Russian operatives during the campaign. We'll know soon.
20
The guy who used to be Giuliani never was the smartest guy but he had nine eleven to keep him afloat for awhile. The country's mayor and all that.
What's in it for Giuliani that he is such a thorough-doing schlump with Trump? Is he Russian? Is he just a major loon?
He should know, but he doesn't because he's dumb, that he can't lie as prolifically or as vacuously as the liar in chief. Why doesn't he do himself and us a favor and just shut up and go away?
25
Thank you, so tired of people saying he was a great mayor.
4
Who needs Mueller when Trump has Guilianni for a lawyer!
36
Looks like Donald and Rudy are getting ready to throw Donald's own flesh and blood under the bus. Wow!
11
Did anybody actually understand what Guiliani was saying? There were so many double negatives in that interview I got lost in the logic in the end.
And these people are our leaders?!
18
Criminal conspiracy with a hostile foreign power is grounds for indicting a president who was elected by same. Justice will be served. The day of reckoning is coming.
32
This whole spectacle started with Donald Trump himself saying he had nothing to do with Russia at all, and that his campaign hadn't had any contact whatsoever with anyone from Russia.
Now were at the point where the only thing left for Rudy to spew is that Donald Trump himself didn't personally collude with the Russia government, but he can't say that the Trump campaign didn't.
That's quite the change there fellas. Have fun at ADX Florence!
10
The changing of stories is as much proof of guilt as anything FBI or Congress could find. When people try a new story every time the last one didn't work out, they knew the last version was untrue, and they don't believe the new version is true either or they would have said this version to begin with.
At first it was "no collusion". Then in July Giuliani said 'even if he did collude, he didn't do anything illegal'.
And there's the meeting with Russians: At first it was 'no meeting'. Then once the meeting was proven it was 'just about adoption'. When that failed, 'the President didn't know' (as though his staff & kids wouldn't tell him, just acting on their own). And once it was proven that the Pres helped draft Don Jr's email response, it went back to 'no collusion, did nothing wrong'.
Now Giuliani says aides may have coordinated with Russia to interfere. Then he quickly says 'no collusion by Trump', (as though his aides wouldn't tell him, just acting on their own). Then its "no knowledge" that nobody colluded.
And there's always the background chatter blaming Dems or Hillary or Obama or the man in the moon. Even a distraction technique like this shows they aren't believing the stories they're telling.
If they had believed any version of these stories, they'd tell that version first and stick to it; and if found to be untrue they'd admit being wrong and maybe be a little embarrassed. But not the Trump crowd, they just dream up the next version.
29
This is an interesting twist. Giuliani no doubt "backpedaled" because his boss knows that any suggestion that "people in the campaign" conspired with Russia (and we should get the terminology straight, it's conspiracy, not collusion, at legal issue here) would lend further credence to the idea that Don Jr. and Jared had both better prepare themselves for prison time in the not-too-distant future. (Yes, the President could simply pardon them, but (1) there's a decent chance that neither man's trial would even start, let alone finish, by January 2021, by which time (2) Trump will be out of the White House if he loses his re-election bid next year).
The part that I find really interesting is the possibility that either or both of them would rat out Don Sr. to save himself. Impossible, you say? They'd never turn on him? They'd be forfeiting their inheritance if they did? Well, there's been rampant speculation for years that Don Sr. is heavily in debt and has much, much less of his own cash (and much, much more in foreign loans) on hand than is commonly believed. There may simply be a lot less to forfeit in terms of money than many think - whereas the prospect of significant hard time in federal prison may be enough to get one or both of them talking. Stay tuned.
9
@Rick... I totally agree with all you said. I think the time will come sooner rather than later that Trump will try to throw both his son and son in law under the theoretical bus. And why not Ivanka as well...As to the outcome, I hope it'll be as you say that they'll give up all they know. It seems inconceivable that with all the people in his campaign that are already under investigation or indicted, the chances that he knew nothimg about it are not realistic. I think he's Putin's puppet but can't really decide if he's simply too stupid to know it or if this is all playing out in a way that catches him totally by surprise, because he's never had to be held accountable for his actions. Indeed... stay tuned.
2
"Mr. Giuliani’s backpedaling was the latest in a series of conflicting comments he has made about the investigation ... " I recall Mr. Giuliani was brought in to help Mr. Trump. It reminds me of an old Beetle Bailey cartoon where Beetle has fallen over a cliff and is hanging by a small tree limb yelling "Help!" He looks up to see Zero peering over the cliff edge and yells "Other help!"
4
So, unless Trump assisted the Russians personally in hacking the DNC headquarters to obtain the purloined emails and other stolen data, he is not guilty of collusion by Giuliani's standards? I guess Trump's enthusiastic request that the Russians hack Hillary's emails does not constitute collusion? And, there was no reason for Nixon to resign, because he only instructed others to burglarize the DNC at the Watergate building. He did not accompany them to the crime scene.
10
I look forward to the day when this clown show is over and America returns as a leader in protecting our planet and doing good for our citizens and other travelers on the "Good Earth".
19
Trump's legal team is now looking at the all-important question - "Who can we throw under the bus?"
17
Giuliani, a man never enamored with speaking the truth, now epitomizes the derogatory term for lawyers: it rhymes with oyster. He reminds me of what people say about dogs - over time, they come to resemble their owners. For those of us who are musically inclined, I suggest the song and the lyrics of the song "A message to you, Rudy" by Dandy Livingstone, or the great cover by The Specials. First line is " Stop your messing around.."
4
@Pete in Downtown "Better think of your future..."
1
Mr. Giuliani also went a bit further on the collusion defense, telling Fox, “Even if he did it, it’s not a crime.”
Nixon: "Well, when the president does it, that means it is not illegal."
We've gone from the country being shocked that a President put himself above the law to it being the de facto position of the Republican Party.*
*Only applicable when the President is a Republican.
18
Giuliani did not "backtrack" from his Thursday statement. On Thursday, he said the discovery that a Trump campaign worker colluded with Russia would necessarily incriminate the president. Today, he said he know of know incidents in which a rump campaign member colluded with Russia. The two statements do not contradict each other. Giuliani never said that a Trump campaign members might have colluded with Russia, which is what the New York Times obviously which he had said.
@William Case Hilarious post! Well done sir!
2
“The only knowledge I have in this regard is the collusion of the Clinton campaign with Russia, which has so far been ignored.”
Yeah, and Patrick Dorismond was “no altar boy”.
Since leaving the office of U.S. Attorney, the facts have usually proven Giuliani wrong.
18
The gang that couldn’t lie straight
260
@JPLA
But they aim to please...
Only their Base.
1
One more of trump's 4th string incompetents, walking back something he said, when smart people pointed out his incompetence.
22
@maturin25
Why in the world does Trump continue to keep this buffoon (Giuliani) on his team. There could only be one answer, "what does Giuliani have on trump?"
2
You meant collision?
11
Sure Rudy. When you say something, we all believe you. Until you say the opposite the next day. Then we believe you. What's tomorrow's alternate fact going to be?
17
Rudy is trying to save his own duff.
At least he knows what obstruction is.
13
Rudy, Rudy, Rudy.
On the Cohen poll manipulation, Rudy said, “if one thing has been established, it’s that Michael Cohen is completely untrustworthy.”
Rudy, far more than one thing has been established.
38
If I were a Trump supporter, I would tell Rudy to shut the heck up, since every time he opens his mouth, he sticks his foot into it. But I’m not a Trump supporter, so Rudy, please keep saying those dumb things.
50
Rude Rudi has become a sick joke. He's lying on a daily basis. Denying, back peddling and meddling with our judicial system. Just like his new best pal lyin Donny. Birds of a feather... Lock them up.
17
Don't be surprised if we learn Putin told Trump to put Manafort in charge of the campaign...
29
@David
And remember that it was Manafort who wanted Pence as VP
13
Will The Times bother to rebut Giuliani's unsubstantiated claim that the Clinton campaign worked with Russia?
15
@Mark Boehnke
not worth the bother, so many lies so few TB
5
@ Mark
I don’t think the NYT feels the need to refute the Clinton claim anymore than if Rudy had claimed the sky is green.
2
It is clear that both Trump and Guilianni suffer from mental disorders.
They are both pathological liars who cannot keep their lies straight.
34
Giuliani like Cohen are trifling example of the legal profession. None of them speak the truth. They as crooked as they come.
2
Keep talking Rudi, keep talking. Your crack legal representation of the Fake President knows no bounds!
16
Is he really this incompetent, or is he trying to confuse us with his non-sequiturs.
16
Mr. Giuliani says he sees nothing and knows nothing except what the President tells him to think and say. That has been a difficult path for a motormouth like him to follow. Where will America's Mayor end up once the Trump experience is over? A place far away from his moment of fame, a political hack defending a train wreck. Like many before him, he might find himself dumped by the political wayside by the man he serves. What reputation he had before, gone. His future prospects diminished to an undersold book tour and occasional appearances on FOX News.
104
I can see him as a "greeter" at one of the splashy casinos on the Strip in Las Vegas, reliving past glories like an old, former boxing champ. Talking endlessly about himself while being adored by 80 year olds from Queens.
13
@richard wiesner
No one should feel sorry for Rudy. While he claimed only $7k in assets at the time of his divorce in 2001, his subsequent law business, consulting firm, and especially his high priced speeches quickly raised his net worth well north of $40 million. He may be disgraced in the eyes of the general public, but the rubes behind Trump will give him a ready audience whenever he wants to show up on Fox, or, for the malignantly conservative high brow crowd, give lectures to the Federalist Society.
7
@richard wiesner Hey, Oregon!
The moniker "America's Mayor" was not exactly the experience in NYC. A bit of self-PR, methinks.
In the area, he was the loudest, most visible, which was at first the most convenient foghorn to focus on-- definitely, an asset. However after serving as the first In Loco Dei, he became self serving and well on the way to becoming what you experience now.
3
Out of that slow-moving train wreck, do you know what most stood out to me?
It wasn't Chris Cuomo's verbal agility, though that was impressive.
It wasn't Chris Cuomo's command of the facts.
It wasn't Rudy's sheer illogicality.
It wasn't the knowledge that Mr. Guiliani was once a person of repute and now he's a transparent shrill for the wrong causes.
No, what most stood out for me was the way that Mr. Giuliani revealed his corrupt character. He has, for so very long, been so entrenched in wrong-doing, that he has lost recognition of what that looks like. I thought that when Mr. Cuomo evoked his father, I was going to cry.
I long for an era when "getting away with something" was not a path to a goal but a betrayal of our values. If there is ever another "Make America Great" movement again, let it at least point us back to the days when ethics still mattered. When no public servant would sell his credibility and honor to the highest bidder.
I hope that for years to come that tape is used in ethics class as an instructional of "what not to do".
I just ran for public office for the first time in my life and won. Let me say this, unequivocally, to Rudy and anyone else reading:
Yes, I read the fine print. No, I don't lie and cheat. Yes, I mean what I say. No, I would never betray the public trust. I look out for the welfare of all and not just the few.
And you know why I ran?
Because I finally realized if not me, then it's the Rudys of this world and that, I cannot have.
346
@Gwe Generally a nice post. But pls point me to those idealized days when no public servant sold out to the highest bidder? Perhaps I just read too much actual history and not glean it from film and television series. Although I loved Rawhide growing up! (Only as an adult did I note that the Mexican cook character appears in the credits as Hey Soos)
8
@ellieK
Nothing is ever perfect: but once upon a time, more people than not in public office had higher ideals than they do now. What Mr. Giuliani revealed in his interview was a culture so entrenched with cheating and conning that it's taken as a statement of fact that we "all know what he means".
That may reflect his rotten values but it doesn't reflect mine....
8
I wish I could upvote this a hundred times!
7
I lived in Manhattan at the time of 9/11.
New Yorkers (and, indeed, the country) were terrified and rudderless. 'America's Mayor' stepped up to the plate and reassured a frightened country. He was really quite remarkable.
Since that time, Rudy has pursued a downward spiral that can best be called Shakespearean in the scope of its tragedy and madness.
Watching his performance on CNN yesterday was depressing, hilarious and stomach-churning all at the same time.
NOT my president
47
@Ninbus
No insult to you, but you were under exptreme stress and a familiar sound might have been a part of your reassurance
6
Giuliani’s credibility is worth more or less like Trump’s integrity.
That is zero.
28
The problem with Rudy is that we won't know for sure if this is all political genius or the work of a legal mind on crack until the very end. For now we can only say that Trump has a crack legal team.
9
Ok, who is a worse spokesperson Sanders or Rudy? If someone tried to hire the absolute worst, you couldn't possibly do better than these two.
20
@Ken calvey
Although Sanders does have that smokey eye...
Rudy has a lot to say. But do we need to hear every lie he wallows in? And every time he does so?
Trump lies with reckless abandon, and shows no shame in doing so. Much of it is not newsworthy, but our media has no restraint in splashing his deceitful words in front of us, nearly every day.
Now Rudy is following in his Don's mouthprints. It isn't that I don't care: I strongly resent that news reports are not prefaced by: 'the repeated fabulist, grifter, and media hog has said...'. If the Times and others were to state this obvious fact, we would be immunized from their shameless, contemptible lies.
Take a stand for decency, before the notion of such behavior is as evanescent and pointless as - Rex Tillerson (or insert your chosen Trump stooge who was tossed on the slag heap of Donald's ego - Rudy will get there soon).
10
Whatever goodwill Giuliani gained nationwide by his calm and considerate actions and statements on 9/11 has evaporated during his embarrassing tenure as Trump's so-called attorney.
Giuliani's become a pathetic spectacle. Unfortunately, he's too happy to be back in the spotlight to know this.
9
Perhaps Giuliani will put Trump's tweets together with his own thinking and announce that Hillary Clinton was part of the Trump campaign and she was the one who colluded with Russia to get him elected.
5
Why does this man still have a license to practice law?
19
Donald never misses a chance to brag that he "knows more than anybody" on any number of subjects. Yet when it comes to knowledge of what any of these sterling individuals he hired might have done, he becomes dumber than a brick. He can't have it both ways, except when he does. The clown car rolls on.
18
With friends like these ...
2
Forget Nostradamus - Lewis Caroll predicted this craziness a long time ago. Here's an excerpt:
“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.” “The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.” “The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master—that's all.”
5
Lies followed by denials. Trump and Giuliani won't stop but the investigation won't either, especially now that Mr Barr confirmed that he won't stop Mr Mueller. The open question : the Mueller report. It must be released for the public, even with redacted parts, if and only if it's a question of national security.
1
Guiliani's comments only proves once again that anybody that touches Trump soon begins to stink. Once "America's Mayor" this man has tarnished his career through his association with Mr. Trump. He will forever be remembered as one of Trump's lackey and one of his victims.
13
@LC And read "Everything Trump Touches Dies" by Wilson. They will all go down with him, these lackeys and hangers-on.
1
Donald J. Trump's in a fine mess when he can't trust his fixers no more.
4
I doubt that NYU Law School wants to remind us that Rudy Giuliani is an alumnus.
8
"Even if he [Trump] did it [colluded], it’s not a crime." Good Lord, Batman's nemesis, The Joker, is sounding more and more like O. J. Simpson.
If there is only one more malevolent clown in the noxious fog of the federal administration than the president himself, it surely must be Rudy Giuliani.
9
Rudi and Donald must have been conjoined twins at birth, they think alike, they talk alike and they act alike.
Why they don't look alike is unbelievable.
I know people from New York so I know it's not a New York thing.
The one thing they both do to the best of their ability, is to embarrass the United States of America to the max.
7
“The only knowledge I have in this regard is the collusion of the Clinton campaign with Russia, which has so far been ignored.”
Has anyone thought to ask America's buffoonish mayor to substantiate his "knowledge" of the Clinton campaign's collusion with Russia? The nonsense never stops with team Trump.
All Giuliani needs to look respectable when he goes into his clown act is the floppy shoes, red rubber nose and squirt bottle.
6
Giuliani will be remembered for his blind allegiance to Trump, for aiding him in every way he could to evade, obscure and defend him from the obvious obstruction of justice, emoluments clause violations of the United States Constitution, conflicts of interest, quid pro quo diplomacy and more. Any idiot can see Trump is destroying us. There’s no pass for Giuliani in his alliance. He has erased the memory of his solid presence after 911, his successes as a US attorney prosecuting organized crime and protecting us. He was let go by his law firm for being crazy. How could he not see what another former mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg said about Trump in the exact words “I’m from New York and I know a con when I see one”.
17
Sounds like it is time to circle around the Boss and throw all others under the bus.
Trump's sons, daughters and even precious Jared should be getting more nervous every day.
19
@mjbarr
As the article points out, Giuliani says Trump did not collude. He also said he knows of no instances in any Trump campaign member colluding. Why would this makes the Trump daughters and Jared Kushner nervous?
Say what you will about Trump, but one has to marvel at his ability to destroy the reputation of anyone with whom he associates, no matter how respected they may have once been.
10
In the news today Michael Cohen admits to pay to doctor polling results in favor of trump during the campaign
What are the chances that his accusation of the Clinton campaign paying people to show up at campaign stops reflects trump paying people for crowd support? And continues to do so
He once fired a staffer for a small crowd result at a campaign rally!!!
6
@Rose P
There are two reasons campaigns pay for polls. One his to discover what appeals to voters; the other is to convince the news media that Americans view their candidate favorable. A Republican poll would ask, "Do you think we should enforce immigrations laws? A Democrat poll would ask, "Do you think asylum seekers fleeing poverty and crime should have their children taken away as punishment for crossing the border illegally?" Both are example of rigging. Both are legal.
@William Case
So specious.
Campaigns pay for polls to be taken; apparently Trump's paid for the poll results to be falsified. That's a huge difference.
And yes, while the wording of a question can very easily be used to manipulate a respondent, the example you propose trades in false equivalence:
The supposed Democrat version asks about a policy action that is both unnecessary and unethical, while still acknowledging the illegality of the border question. It does not, however, suggest that crossing the border illegally is to be argued with or disputed. Of course the law should be enforced—I don't think there's any Democrat who would argue otherwise. In your proposed version, the issue is HOW said illegal border crosser's family ought to be treated, given what he law is. And there is no law that says families should be separated. In fact, the law DOES say that any person requesting asylum has a legal right to due process. As does the 14th Amendment, which applies due process to ALL persons in the country—citizen or not.
1
Let Rudy talk - as much as he wants. He is a Trump's servant but he may help end the Trump debacle soon.
7
Actually, Giuliani's statement might encourage Paul Manafort to finally come clean with the special counsel.
Why would Manafort protect Trump after hearing what Rudy just said? (Except that he's terrified of the Russians.)
8
"Giuliani Backpedals on Statement About Trump Aides and Collusion"
Rudy Giuliani has been quoted as saying: ‘I never said there was no collusion’ between Trump campaign and Russia"
It never ceases to amaze me how Giuliani, Trump and the republicans can say something so absolutely false, as Rudy has just done, and expect us to believe it. Trump's "base" will of course believe it any anything else, but they are only 30+% of the American population. The 70% knows full well that this is just one more lie from the lie factory of Trump and Giuliani.
We have all of the denials on news web pages, news papers, verbal quotes recorded and video taped, and yet Rudy, Trump and all of his gofers will continue to push the lies.
7
Hardworking, solidly middle-class Americans sincerely envy the mobility of Giuliani's goalposts.
2
I do not understand what people in this administration are doing. Are they certain they will face no repercussions for their actions, which increasingly look illegal and possibly traitorous?
There were very few legal consequences for those who seceded during the Civil War. Even those in charge of the confederacy faced little punishment. Are they banking on that kind of result?
I'm not so sure things will be the same this time.
2
After 9/11, Rudy Guiliani was "America's Mayor" regardless of any actions he had taken in his career previously. He could have been set for life, beloved by millions and with all the wealth he could have ever possibly needed.
So, what motivates him to keep doing this? Did he just get sick of the standing ovations at sporting events and ribbon cutting ceremonies? Why is he on TV every week lying for Trump? I just don't understand people like this.
7
What is most amazing is not Giuliani’s regular gaffes compromising his client but the fact that Trump keeps sending him back out as spokesman.
11
Trump has filed 6 corporate bankruptcies, but never personal bankruptcy. In other words, he has managed to bankrupt others multiple times while staying on the sidelines. I submit Rudy is presently a participant in his own moral bankruptcy, while Trump remains on the sideline.
20
The first response offered by Trump on any question challenging his conduct in any way is always untrue, it is assumed to be untrue, people are not shocked by it, they simply take it as sort of a "first draft" of the real story and await developments. Americans now accept this as normal, much as Mexicans take as normal a story that $100 milion bribe was paid by a drug lord to the president of Mexico a few years ago. Meanwhile Bernie Sanders may be excluded from the US presidential race because someone on his campaign staff harrassed a fellow campaign worker.
2
@gbc1 are you certain Bernie Sanders is not also a Russian agent, like Manafort, Gates, Trump, Jill stein? I’m not.... if I were Putin, and terrified of Hillary, I would finance and promote attacks from all sides. Bernie needs to go away.
Is there no one who loves or cares about Rudy enough to tell him to stop humiliating himself like this. It is far to late to salvage any of his reputation, but he doesn't need to continuing to humiliate himself in front of all of America.
3
Isn't it sad that the president of the U.S. has to have a defense policy for himself and his party! One day he and his cronies, Giuliani in this case, say one thing only to contradict it the next day. Sad state of our country and world.
4
Giuliani is backpedaling on his backpedaling on his statements about collusion. Why are we not surprised?
4
Obviously none of these people have had a regular job. For most of us, you go to work, put in an honest days labor while valuing honesty and integrity then go home to your family. And you pay all taxes that are due.
Imagine if you employer caught you breaking the law by lying? Or asked you to break the law and lie? Don’t you think most of us would figure out how to exit or handle the situation without breaking the law?
Rudy, wherever did you go wrong? How can you possibly think your behavior is OK? How can your employer think so? It’s wrong on so many levels and the American people are paying.
4
It was the desperate quality of his argument w/Cuomo that most intrigued me. Giuliani has been trying to bait Mueller from the git-go: "He has no evidence of collusion; now is the time for him to put up or shut up, to show us what he has." That Mueller never responds must irk him. And now that he's lost access to Mueller's line of questioning via shared attorney agreements must add to his hysteria. Giuliani pounds out the drum message he hopes to hear reverberated by Republicans & the base.
People should read the Manafort filing. Even though most is redacted, you still get enough info about a guy Trump lauds "a fine man, unjustly treated by the law." Manafort is as big a crook as Gotti or Bernie Madoff. He made millions from his Russian oligarch Kremlin-connected clients and devised schemes to conceal the income & avoid paying taxes on it. It's obvious he had no problem trading state secrets for money. This guy, who has a $300K debt in delinquency to AMEX, nevertheless had no problem working as campaign manager for FREE. But he knew he'd be making much more money from other sources, his value being top dog for Trump & thus a very valuable, reliable backchannel.
I don't think there's any way Barr can conceal this info without looking complicit himself. The oath he takes is to his country, not Trump. (& I bet Trump won't try to get him to sign an NDA).
9
A little Benny Hill music might have been more appropriate for that video...
2
The only significant thing Giuliani said was that 'truth isn't truth.' That statement says everything you need to know about him and Trump.
3
For once please, can you report that Barr did not agree to release any report. How difficult could that be?
4
In my humble opinion, Rudolf Giuliani, once a prominent and effective federal prosecutor, and a former mayor of NY City, has squandered his reputation and credibility over many years and especially since he joined Donald Trump’s inner circle. He speaks, not as a lawyer knowledgeable about his client’s position and case and the law, wise and prudent, but as a charlatan baiting his audience with spur-of-the-moment statements. Too much attention is paid him by the media, since he surely has little, if any, influence on the issues and events surrounding his boss.
106
It´s difficult to get Trump and his supporters- lies, denials,and fabrications straight so they do not contradict prior Trump ¨facts and talking points.¨ Sounds like Trump is using the Bill Clinton,¨I put the marijuana joint in my mouth but I didn´t inhale the smoke.¨ Trump and his Campaign Chairman, Paul Manafort gave the polling data to the Russians and told the Russians when to release the hacked e-mails but didn´t actually steal the e-mails.
20
@Stanley Mann
Giuliani simply pointed out that a discovery that some Trump campaign workers colluded with Russian would not necessary incriminate the president. How could you construe this as a lie, denial or fabrication?
Bizarre appearance and statements.
Giuliani is, as they say "a couple of french fries short of a happy meal."
44
He is the lawyer I would want my worst enemy to have.
5
I would like to know this. How many lies does somebody like Giuliani, Trump, Sanders, Conway or any of these other congenital liars have to tell, but you don't give life to their lies by turning them into headlines?
50? 1000? Billions and Billions?
Is there any point at which you stop reporting the statements of somebody who lies all the time?
60
@Gerry
"Is there any point at which you stop reporting the statements of somebody who lies all the time?"
When they are no longer mismanaging our future.
The hope is, of course, that by highlighting all of the lying, at some point it will begin to erode that "base" of Americans that is currently not much bothered by it.
3
@Gerry
they are not going to stop lying and I would rather the lies be recorded and reported so a reckoning finally arrives-- the question is, at what point does a government that lies all the time become too much for the American people?
At this point in Rudy's life I wouldn't hire him to help me with a traffic ticket.
29
Is Rudolph Giuliani still relevant?
20
Giuliani still has that directive as an officer of the court to tell the truth. Then he realizes that he's trump's pettifogger, so he has to backtrack and say the exact opposite.
I say take Giuliani at his first word. He's just a foolish man.
4
The only thing we can be sure of: No one can trust anything Trump, Giuliani, Sarah Sanders, or any other White House spokesperson from this administration says. Not yesterday, not last week, not ever. And definitely not today.
46
Can we all just agree that this clown car has become a clown convoy instead?
41
Stop giving this creature space, and especially allowing him to appear on TV. What's the point ??? Noun, verb, 9/11, LIE. Every single time.
Seriously.
24
A slow motion train wreck of Biblical proportion.
25
There is no reason to report on anything Giuliani says, period. Let him spin his tales on fox 'news'.
17
Giuliani is bringing a new depth to the definition of “dumb as a box of rocks”. If Trump’s campaign colluded with the Russians, then Trump was part of it.
22
The Republicans have determined that Trump must go. He's now a huge liability and has outlived his usefulness. They will continue to stand back, allow the gov to remain shut down, and wait until his support erodes to about 25 percent. Then they will make a deal with the Dems for immigration reform that provides funding for "boarder security." McConnell will allow a vote in the Senate. (Sorry Federal workers, sorry to say but you are just pawns).
In the meantime, maybe they replace RBG with another hard core conservative. Bonus!
Then they will make a deal that Trump agrees not run in 2020 and in return he and his family avoid criminal prosecution.
When you are Mitch McConnell and you end up with a Trump, you make Trump stew. Yummy!
7
@SidLives
"Then they will make a deal that Trump agrees not run in 2020 and in return he and his family avoid criminal "prosecution"
No...I want Trumps head on a platter.
along with his entire brood.
3
@SidLives I have to admit it's hard to argue with that gloomy prognosis. The ray of light is that Trump and his family will presumably be prosecuted after he leaves office even if he manages to escape impeachment during his term (and assuming he isn't pardoned by whoever takes the office next).
1
@Loren C Pardons won't work in the SDNY. Yippee!
1
Giuliani back-pedals so much he could be a circus act. Oh wait. He already is - a clown.
16
Does giuliani have any comprehension of how far he has fallen since being America’s mayor?
What a disgrace he’s become.
22
This just gets funnier and funnier (laugh so you don't cry, right?).
7
Rudy Giuliani is devolving from playing Trump lawyer " Voldemort" to " Gollum".
Donald Trump has managed to corner the market on the dumbest stupidest unethical lawyers in America.
7
Trump is now in "the modified limited hangout" phase of trying to avoid impeachment and ouster. It sure isn't working.
Trump will be impeached. We already have proof of felony violations of FECA (the conspiracy with Pecker and Cohen to pay off McDougal) and money laundering and tax fraud (both federal and state) in the payments to Cohen that hid the payment to Cliffords. The (sane) Democrats are waiting for the avalanche of revelations we know are coming.
Trump is now getting bitten by piranhas. The first bites are turning the water pink and bringing more, but instead of trying to get out of the water he has a surrogate blithering, while he thrashes and calls the piranhas names.
13
This is like "Groundhog Day;" the M.O. is the same with every controversy. "I don't know any porn stars. Well, I know some, but I never see them. Well I see them, but I have nothing to do with them. Well. I spank them occasionally. Pay them? No. You'll have to ask my lawyer. Well, someone paid someone, but it wasn't me. Actually, it was me, but it was a legal payment. Well, it might not be totally kosher, but I can do it because I'm the Donald. And you're not!"
What total creeps — Giuliani and Trump both!
34
Why would anyone, even somebody as arrogant and ignorant as our president want Bozo Giuliani on their defense team? Seriously. Are they trying to get convicted? If so, he's your man.
13
This is not a comment.I never said I was going to comment on this article. Don't pay attention to what I just said.
16
Cleanup in aisle Rudy!
22
He is a clown sent out on the circuit to say stupid/lurid/crazy stuff to distract from Trump's crimes. When we finish the investigations; he will be found guilty of multiple crimes. Guiliani has been grifting in Europe for decades; tip of the iceburg. Ray Sipe
7
Loose Lips Sink Ships or Presidents!
A president who has a fool for a lawyer is a fool also!
12
I guess Jackie Chiles wasn't available, so DJT picked Rudy instead....
14
@Matchdaddy - I'm pretty sure that Lionel Hutz was the second pick, and Rudy was third.
1
@Jim both of them better than Rudy...
Things must be getting uncomfortable for Trump. Seems like he just threw his kids under the Airbus.
11
If it weren’t so appalling, this would be humorous. The outright lies, followed by backtracking is a lying strategy used by six year-olds. “ I DID NOT play with matches. Well, I HAD matches in my room, but those were a friend’s matches. OK, I took the matches into my room from our kitchen FOR my friend. I just watched him light one. OK, I only lit one match but I put it out right away. I don’t know how the carpet got burned!”
That Trump and his minions think the American people are so stupid that we will forget the first lie and accept the successive lies. It’s insulting, especially since most of the lies have been recorded! Isn’t it time that a member of Congress or a reporter says right to his face, “President Trump, that is a lie!” Use the word. There IS such a thing as truth.
46
@Kathryn, excellent analogy! Yes, kind of reminds you of the Saudis trying a series of lies regarding their murder of Mr. Khashoggi to see if they could come up with one that the world would be stupid enough to buy, not realizing that if we see the first try is a lie we're not going to buy the subsequent attempts.
3
@Kathryn ....Indeed and despite one of Ghouliani's most infamous on-air claims: "The truth is not the truth!"
1
@Jerry Schulz
Not to worry. Those were safe and sane safety matches.
1
Giuliani is simply pointing out that a discovery that some Trump campaign workers colluded with Russian would not necessary incriminate the president. Giuliani says he knows of no incidents of collusion. This is hardly surprising. If anyone knows of incidents of collusion, they have kept it secret. So far, only the possibility of collusion has been reported.
@William Case - "Giuliani says he knows of no incidents of collusion." That's not true at all, William. Giuliani claims to know about collusion between the Clinton campaign, Russia, Santa Claus, and the Tooth Fairy. But other than that... yeah, Rudy sounds TOTALLY reasonable.
3
@William Case He we go. The daily embarrassing Trump apology
4
@William Case. I don't know what Mueller has in the way of evidence about collusion or conspiracy to work with a foreign govt for the purpose of tampering with an election, but based on all the indictments & filings, I get the impression that Mueller has solid evidence, backed up by multiple credible sources. Mueller is no hack & has spent a lifetime as a professional law man. Giuliani & Barr both know that Mueller's work product will be solid, as solid as his numerous indictments & guilty convictions have been.
If I were Giuliani, I'd be helping Trump work out a deal.
2
Is it possible to get a statement from anyone in the entire Trump Administration that is not an outright lie or that will not be contradicted by another's statement within 24 hours? For example, are we withdrawing from Syria or not?
11
@WmC
Giuliani, Conway, Sanders, Trump are all human word processors constantly editing their own or other's speech. Nothing is ever cast in concrete.
1
Giuliani poorly articulated something that is patently obvious: when people are in the orbit of power, most, if not all, try to capitalize on their position. They will listen to all sorts of people courting them, and they will often exaggerate their influence for financial or reputational gain. First in line are old friends and connections. It is quite possible that some in the campaign were trying to do just that - we know at least one instance for sure when Gen. Flynn took a big fee from the Turks to "fix" the Gullen problem (he duped them because of his position, when in reality he had a pretty low chance of delivering). One can easily see how Manafort, after becoming campaign Chair, called up his old buddies in Ukraine and told them to open up the wallets (being short on cash exponentially increases this likelihood), while Trump had no clue about it (just like he had no clue about Flynn and the Turks). The play with removing Ukraine from the Republican platform at the convention was clearly his handiwork. Furthermore, there was a sense of urgency to cash out, because nobody seriously believed that Trump would win. Of course, Mueller must probe all of this, which he is certainly doing, the key question being whether Trump was on the take or not. Be patient, don't jump to conclusions. Mueller will tell us...
5
Member of the campaign met with the Russians at Trump Tower about adoption...
Well yes the president drafted a memo that lied about the meeting...
And Manafort gave polling data to the Russians...
As well as many Trump associates met with the Russians...
And as many as 14 have lied about the meeting with Russians...
Well yes Trump sided with Putin in Helsinki...
And well yes Trump has kept his conversations with Putin secret...
there is no collusion...
maybe there was some collusion...
what's wrong with collusion...
but it important to remember that collusion is not a crime...
16
“The only knowledge I have in this regard is the collusion of the Clinton campaign with Russia which has so far been ignored.”
Since he's "established" that collusion is not a crime, I guess that's not a problem, then.
17
Disgrace to his former colleagues in the prosecutor's office
Disgrace to New Yorkers who already knew him for what he is
True colors, shining through
Disgrace. Shame. Perfect apparatchik for the current administration.
13
In this CNN interview, "the man who used to be called Rudy Guiiani" (as Mark Shields put it) has unveiled one of the most important rules in the playbook of those who willing to debase themselves to cover for the highly corrupt:
Say whatever you can get away, in a crisis, with that will get your client off the hook. Then, prepare to retreat to the narrowest possible reading of your lie as evidence mounts against it.
8
The easiest way to determine if someone is lying is if their story constantly shifts.
How Giuliani can come across as more of a liar than Donald Trump is a complete mystery to me. Nevertheless, he’s accomplished it.
24
@ubique
Not sure that Rudy is that accomplished. In the shifting tales he might well better adhere to the cautionary adage "Loose lips sink ships." His edit function is failing him and he is failing his client! The ship may be sinking.
This man has zero credibility or relevance. The next step for him should be as a cast member on a future season of Celebrity Big Brother.
2
When a once heralded prosecutor and perceived American hero in the aftermath of 911 falls prey to doing the bidding of a scheming grifter it's a sad day for us all.
7
What heroic actions did Rudy take in the aftermath of 9/11? I've been asking myself that question for 18 years and haven't come up with anything yet. I remember how he wanted to stay in office after losing to Bloomberg on the pretext that the City needed him due to the terrorist attack. Rudy has always been a self serving hack.
2
@Michael Fusco never a hero. Always a fraud
3
@Stevie Matthews I said “perceived”.
Rudy's twin guideposts:
Edward Ball: "Confusion to the enemy!"
Pogo: "We have met the enemy, and he is us."
2
"I only hire the best people."
-donald j. bone-spurs
5
Is it me, or would Trump, Pence, Giuliani, De Voss, Kushner, Pruitt , Cohen , et al make great villains in a Batman movie ?
6
Maybe this is a rigged witch hunt, but it definitely isn't fake news.
1
So it's a Liberal, Deep State hoax which hunt...except with each passing week it becomes more true, and Trump's statements more false. What is the limit of his supporter's cognitive dissonance and ability to conclude that they might be wrong and their loyalty misplaced? It's not too late to join the stand for country over party.
5
@Chris, It's limitless. If there is any cognitive activity at all.
1
Trumps new strategy is incompetent counsel.
11
@Deirdre: sure, but only the Best incompetent counsel.
3
@Deirdre Yes, he can say his attorney was incompetent and appeal the verdict. :-)
1
Not sure why Rudy is out there in the first place on this ‘team’. A career politician is not a good fit for a high stakes legal team.
1
Rudy is a funny funny man. Once a respected US Attorney and Mayor and now a 'respected' sycophant of Trump.
3
I thinking Rudy may be trying to increase the amount of chaos the exists in our government. Since Rudy often speaks out before someone in the Trump administration is in trouble with Mueller. My bet is that Ivanka, Jared, Don Jr or Eric may be the next target for Mueller.
4
Guiliani - and certainly not Trump - has never learned this wise piece of advice.
‘One of the great things about telling the truth is that you don’t have to remember what you said.’
6
Credibility. Not one ounce from Rudy .IT never had any. now the tv attorney mouth piece of a lawyer can't stay on script. Special counsel has more to process. Mind boggling is what it is. Need a whiteboard to keep up
Are we entirely sure that Rudy is NOT a Democratic operative who has infiltrated trump's orbit to destroy the administration from the inside out?
If not, he sure is doing a good job of it.
1
How on earth did that guy ever get through law school. Cuomo cleaned his clock in that interview.
The record CLEARLY shows that on MULTIPLE occasions, Giuliano asserted that the Trump CAMPAIGN never colluded with Trump. He did not limit his assertion to just Trump.
3
These reports are ludicrous. They would be laughable if the reality that they hide was not becoming obvious: That the U.S. government is not acting in the best interest of U.S. citizens, and that Trump has already, and continues to damage the reputation and prospects for the future of the country.
4
We have an illegitimate president who conspired with a foreign power to get himself 'elected'.
Why are we allowing this man to continue to make decisions that affect not only our country but the entire world?
Beyond nauseating. I am always feeling this - the destruction of my country. Day in, day out, minute by minute, sometimes second by second I am feeling it. I've never felt this way before. At 67 I've seen a lot happen in America. But never have I seen million upon million of citizens just let this unfit man stay in office.
Why aren't we in the streets? And not leave until he and his corrupt, illegal administration are goners and he and his cohorts are in prison - which includes his son and daughter - for a very long time.
Only then will I breathe easily again.
Where are our leaders demanding he be gone? Demand from our leaders they do their job! 25th Amendment. Now.
7
I am not a constitutional scholar or lawyer but isn't it treasonous behavior to knowingly align yourself with a foreign government to gain the highest office of our land and therefore act not in the best interest of the country you took the oath of office to lead.
If Giuliani keeps moving the goal posts why not float the claim there may have been acts of treason. With each new revelation the WH backpedals and so if some journalists, TV pundits, or even comedians push that position the WH may even admit to some Conspiracy and Giuliani might even admit that some may have Conspired... but of course not on the part of the President.
As a patriotic American all of this aligning ourselves up with Russian interests, distancing ourselves from our allies, and contorting our foreign policy that jeopardizes our nations safety just does not add up.
5
@David Youngworth It's called treason. Let's give it the name it deserves.
2
Rudy lies and backtracks. Trump lies and reasserts it as if it's become true.
2
It seems pretty clear at this point that any who still support Trump have a philosophy that most any crime is tolerable and forgivable as long as it's in exchange for 1. lower taxes 2. keeping non-whites down, but preferably out 3. zero restrictions on guns or anything else deemed dangerous, like pollution and 4. eliminate abortion completely if possible. I guess they feel really strongly about these things!
8
Whether his Giuliani's buffonery is intentional obfuscation or a sad product of his ageing, I suspect Mueller and Co. will flay him alive.
6
I think Giuliani would be well served to use the words as penned by Chris Christie in his new book….namely – Trump “trusts people he shouldn’t, including some of the people who are closest to him.” And this group includes an “evolving door of deeply flawed individuals — amateurs, grifters, weaklings, convicted and unconvicted felons."
With this cast of characters in charge of the government and the presidential campaign in 2016, it should not come as any surprise that they were colluding with the Russians to steal the 2016 Presidential election.
Now my next question, is Rudy Giuliani one of those “flawed” individuals?
2
No, Rudy, we'll take you at your first word. You know more indictments are about to drop on Trump's team, and so you made the statement you did, trying to put some daylight between the Don and his criminal enterprise.
Will Mueller be giving us another Friday Surprise? HOPES ARE HIGH!!
4
The President's lawyer like Trump himself are the epitome of that old chestnut—how do you know if a lawyer (politician) is lying? Those lying lips are forever moving. Lies and the lying liars that tell them.
1
America's Mayor has become America's Nightmare.
6
This guy is a real beauty.
4
What do you call it when your campaign manager hands over campaign polling data to Russian intelligence, and when your son meets with a Russian lawyer who has deep Kremlin connections to get dirt on your opponent, and when you meet privately with Putin with no record of what was said, and when your foreign policy decisions favor Russia, and when you hand over classified information to Russian diplomats in an oval office meeting that banned the American press, and when you ask Russians to find Hillary's emails and they hack into the DNC's server soon after, and when at a campaign stop, a Russian spy is given the opportunity to ask the first question, which happens to be about lifting Russian sanctions and...so on and so on...
10
@Roberta Since you ask.... that sounds like collusion to commit treason to me!
3
Giuliani's limited mission is to spread twitter chaff. roil the waters, confuse the debate, change the subject, deny the obvious, troll the haters.
twitter chaff ... he's good at it, which should be pointed out more often.
sideshow is what you call the eyecatching circus diversions on the way into the big tent and the main event.
Giuliani: sideshow. Mueller: main event.
1
There is something the matter with Giuliani cognitively. Trump ought to get a new lawyer.
1
@Finever No kidding! Looking like it's too late though, YEARS too late.
Not really "backtracking". This is more like clarifying.
This entire article is speculative at best. He essentially said the same thing twice in two different ways and the second time was trying to clarify what he intended to say the first time. Backtracking is quite a stretch on the narrative.
Also, the most important part of this story is, again in NYT fashion, quietly inserted in a one liner: He added, “The only knowledge I have in this regard is the collusion of the Clinton campaign with Russia which has so far been ignored.”
NYT ... where is the article on Clinton campaign collusion with Russia? Bias?
@kz I guess you missed the part about Rudy sayin collusion isn't a crime. Not surprising, you misread the whole article, why not gloss over that as well?
2
@kz But - but - but - collusion is not a crime! Rudy just said so. So what's to investigate?
@kz because (as the article states) there is no evidence that happened
Let’s cover this sideshow, absolutely. But please, NYT put this in the entertainment section or perhaps under Fiction reviews where it belongs.
1
Corruption, bigotry & lies are the calling cards of this administration. Giuliani has taken whatever good will he generated as mayor and flushed it down the toilet by speaking on behalf of this crowd. He's the puppet!
2
What a despicable human being he is. He embodies all that is worst in American politics, and indeed in American life.
8
@Sparky Remember when he was mayor and nicknamed "Crueliani" and "Generalissimo"? Those were the days. (sarcasm)
1
Wow! You think HE’S Crazy?
Look at who his client is.
5
For a guy whose leadership I admired during 911, it is truly disappointing to see this once respectable man relegate himself to an endless charade of greasy clarifying statements all preceded with "I never said" and "as far as I know" and "to the best of my knowledge." He is self-destructing before our very eyes, having morphed into an sad caricature epitomizing every bad joke ever made about lawyers.
218
Rudy received and took far too much credit for the NY response to 9/11.
In fact, HE exacerbated the problems and disaster by (among other things), insisting that the NY disaster response HQ be at the WTC (despite being advised by experts to NOT locate it there), also he refused to pay for communications devices which would work between multiple first responders, i.e., police to fire Dept and back.
If you don't believe this, go ahead and google Guilliani 9/11 mistakes or something similar.
Rudy has destroyed his reputation (what was left of it) by working for and lying about trump. They deserve one another. As the red hatters yell, "lock them up."
29
@M. Winchester, In for a penny, right?
Aphorisms aside, I agree that it is just sad to watch his disgraceful self immolation at the foot of such a crooked man. It is a perplexing blight on his career arc.
Personally, I can’t decide if he has a narcissistic disorder that draws him to a camera like a moth to a light, or if he honestly believes he may yet be tapped for a senior leadership position in the FBI, CIA, or elsewhere.
9
@M. Winchester
I do not think Rudy was ever a great person, he just benefitted from a city and country that was trying to recover from 9/11.
1
Giuliani problem is that he is too old to keep up with the changing statements of Trump. But, he is a perfect personal attorney to Trump in the sense they both go around each other yapping irrespective of whether they are making any sense or not. They both make statements, later they deny it or they don’t mean that way, hoping people for get it. But the media keep reminding the people and they were labeled as fake news. They together would form a great comedy show series on TV, much better than odd couple.
7
Just like Nixon, break in, what break in, who are the guys caught, those guys not members of campaign, campaign didn't know, administration didn't know, I am not a crook, I didn't know, I resign. We are getting to the end.
16
I believe the campaign chairman qualifies as one of "the top four or five people" involved with the campaign. We're not talking about the "thousands of people who worked on the campaign." We're talking about one of the people Giuliani obviously "checked with."
If you break down this explanation a little further, you'll notice Giuliani isn't claiming the absence of collusion. He's saying he has no knowledge of collusion. A small but important difference. If I were a reporter, I think I would ask Giuliani whether he has intentionally avoided or been explicitly denied information about the Trump campaign's legal defense in order to maintain plausible deniability.
In other words: Is Giuliani's ignorance in anyway intentional?
I imagine that question will generate a stammered response.
5
@Andy Only problem is this "attorney " lies whenever his lips move like commander in cheif.
Rudy Giuliani has as much credibility as his client, Donald Trump. It's painful to watch him constantly lie and move the goalposts.
What's really hard to process is the fact that he was once a U.S. Attorney. He's now acting like the organized crime bosses that he used to prosecute.
19
Next up - Collusion isn't a big deal, everybody does it. It's not a crime if the president did it. Look what America got! How could we not be grateful for the Trump presidency? So what if a little collusion brought us all this winning!
7
Is this Guiliani's attempt to stay ahead of the news? There's seems to be a pattern to his bizarre behavior -- anytime damaging information about the
Trump campaign's associations with shady Russians is made public, Guilliani is sent out shortly beforehand to create as much detraction and confusion as possible.
Does he have any pride?
8
Is this Guiliani's attempt to stay ahead of the news? There's seems to be a pattern to his bizarre behavior -- anytime damaging information about the Trump campaign's associations with shady Russians is made public, Guilliani is sent out shortly beforehand to create as much detraction and confusion as possible.
Does he have any pride?
1
Rudi says HE never said no collusion between the campaign and Russia to deflect attention from the fact that his client absolutely told that lie.
2
It's almost hypnotic watching a lie slowly unravel until all that's left is the naked truth. What's more is that this happens on its own as if ruled by physics.
Three cheers for science. And truth. And karma.
8
At some point (soon) the prudent thing to do will be to carefully distance oneself from Trump. People who stand by him will be radioactive once he's out of office.
2
@Rick They already are
So, Giuliani is not able to say that the Trump Campaign did not collude with Russia and his position with respect to Trump is that "there is no evidence" of Trump colluding with Russia. These words are carefully chosen. Where there's smoke there's fire and based on what we now know it would be more surprising than not if Trump was not a witting or unwitting Russia agent.
2
Mr. Giuliani is part of the Trump train wreck. He is driving the president right into a jail term. When is collusion not collusion? When Giuliana says, there's collusion/ not collusion.
We saw it with our own eyes a presidential candidate on a campaign stop begging for help from Russia to find emails. Then the corrupt meeting at Trump towers with Russian operatives. Mr Cohen then tells the truth Russia and Trump were secretly talking . The GOP are just sorry group of immoral people who believe their own lies. After all Mr Giuliani said it best truth isn't the truth. Lock them all up.
3
He is simply trying to gently get "the base" ready for upcoming revelations, and doing it slowly, to ease them into his lies.
Only God knows what they already know is coming out.
Only Mueller knows what really went on.
2
The wall that Trump has built around himself is showing signs of breakage.
2
To be fair, “no collusion” isn’t exactly the same as “no evidence of collusion,” is it?
2
If the Fourth Estate is, in fact, serving the public...and not the directives of its advertisers and political sponsors... then it is a grave disservice to the public's understanding of critical issues to have proven, repeated prevaricators on as sources of information.
Giving a public platform to political advertising without a disclaimer is just wrong.
2
There was never any collusion with the Russians, just cooperation, coordination, co-conspiracy, commingling of information, etc.
So here we are:
From Richard M Nixon: "Your president is not a crook."
From Donald J Trump: "I never worked for the Russians."
And history shows that Nixon was a crook, and Trump is what?
2
Kinda like trying to sort-out a food fight in an elementary school cafeteria.
1
Giuliani seems to split hairs, he states:
“There was no collusion by President Trump in any way, shape or form,” ...
The question remains, did "Mr." Trump participate? Rudy is playing a game of words. Hey Rudy, did "Mr. Trump" cheat?
1
The "Clinton colluded with Russia" claim is maddeningly dishonest, a clear attempt to inoculate Trump from criticism by falsely accusing his opponent of doing the same thing. She did not. A presidential campaign is free to by staplers that were made in China, and it's free to contract with a Chinese company to make custom staplers. It just can't accept a donation of staplers (or any other support) from Chinese Nationals, regardless of where they were made.
2
As well try to out hustle a three-card monty hustler than hold onto the slippery eel of "truth" or "logic" in Giuliani's logarythms. Actually I do the three-card monty guy an injustice. Unless he's an absolute thief, one of the cards will prove true. Nothing proves true with Giuliani.
2
Maybe next he will invoke the "I was confused by the double-negative" defense.
2
Rudy was once respected. I guess 9/11/2001 was a moment for him. Its a pity to see how far downhill he's gone.
2
@D.Rosen he has never been worth respecting. Even thsat was evident as New York Mayor. He was crooked, racist, and slimey even back then.
2
@D.Rosen
I liked him for about 2 months following 9/11. Then Rudy (a/k/a Generalissimo among other epithets) began musing in the days leading up to Election Day about how NYC couldn't do without him; thus morphing back into the Rudy we (New Yorkers) all knew and loathed. Biden had him pegged when he said "a noun, a verb and 9/11".
2
I'm beginning to think Giulani is actually working for the Democrats.
2
I would love to see more coverage on the opinions and feelings of New Yorkers who've seen their former mayor transform into a toady for Trump.
6
@brian: Believe me, it wasn't that much of a transformation.
1
Now we have the wild Russian fable, "The Evolution of Collusion," by Rudy Giuliani. There was none, it was just a little, a little wasn't a big crime, okay well I never said there was none..... and so it goes.
Rudy has completely and utterly debased himself, having apparently lost his mind at some point along the way in service of Donald.
He's always been a bit of a goon, from his days as prosecutor, surreptitiously alerting the tabloids to the perp walks of white collar criminals, to his racist diatribes as mayor. But he has certainly gone over the edge for Donald, which will be his legacy.
3
why anybody pays a second of time paying attention to this clown--or many other of trump's circus--is beyond comprehension.
except this group of dunces with the ability to blow up the planet or destroy it with their ignorance/denial of climate change on the only planet we know that supports life--some of it made up of intelligent human beings.
1
This is ALL orders of magnitude high crimes and treason perpetrated by a conspiracy of domestic and foreign actors against us -- this democracy called The United States of America. Make no mistake.
1
any collusion by candidate Trump?
lawyer semantics...
1
Giuliani can't get his own rambling untruths straight which is a common theme in the White House Mueller playbook. His Incoherent comments indicate that he wants to have it both ways. Caught in a lie about an earlier misstatement, he dances through the raindrops to give himself wiggle room when his comments come back to contradict him. He resembles a pretzel more than a responsible and ethical attorney.
2
Keep moving those goalposts Rudy!
With friends like Rudy . . .
Even Rudy can observe the obvious and irrefutable Manafort to Russia hand off of data to be used by them in helping Trump
1
Wonder why the Times continues to promote the collusion theory, when there was in fact collusion in the Clinton camp as reported by another newspaper this morning
estimony last year before a House task force investigating the Trump-Russia affair confirmed that top Justice Department officials knew about the Trump dossier earlier than first thought, and that among those who knew was Andrew Weissmann, who went on to become the top deputy of special counsel Robert Mueller.
Bruce Ohr, the fourth-ranking official in the Justice Department, told the House task force that he met with Christopher Steele, the former British spy who wrote the dossier, at a Washington hotel on July 30, 2016. At that point, Steele, recruited for the job by Glenn Simpson of the opposition research firm Fusion GPS, had completed a few installments of the dossier, including the salacious and never-verified sex allegation featuring Donald Trump and prostitutes in a Moscow hotel. Ohr testified that shortly after meeting with Steele, "I wanted to provide the information he had given me to the FBI."
What is your point? If Clinton colluded, it’s OK for Trump to collude? We’ve seen Trump acolytes pointing at just about anything to see if attention can somehow be pulled away from Trump. Sorry, it won’t work. Too much stuff to ignore.
2
@Tony J Mann the dossier you talk about was started by the GOP, sad how you forget those testy facts.
2
@Tony J Mann OK, the FBI and DOJ knew about the dossier. You are just repeating a fact. What is the actual crime there? There isn't one. They were just doing their jobs.
"No collusion! No collusion! No collusion!
Well, ... yeah.
Okay.
Actually, we DID collude with the Russians.
But so what?"
2
The only requirement for being a republican is that you not posses an iota honesty or integrity. Giuliani easily fits the description.
110
Giuliani keeps talking about "to my knowledge," but his state of knowledge may have nothing to do with what happened.
59
Schmiegle Giuliani is playing the shell game with the American people. Now you see it now you don't. Under which shell is the pea? it's in a basket under the table.
42
Can I take back my vote for Giuliani?
8
No.....I believe we need to take Mayor Giuliani at his word that the Trump campaign did in fact collude with Russians during the 2016 presidential campaign. He is the President's counsel and needs to be listened to carefully. Now someone needs to explain how someone as controlling as Donald Trump was not in the loop with his campaign. Just doesn't seem logical, does it?
52
Sad. He was a good lawyer, one time. A savvy political figure too, but no longer. Now, he goes on TV, says things and then repeatedly has to "walk back" the statements he makes.
8
I wish Giuliani read these comments because if he did, he could see me telling him that it’s well past time for him to go crawl under a rock
1
Can’t this man be questioned under oath? Attorney-client privilege can’t apply to everyone he’s ever talked with. He has direct knowledge and has made statements that suggest some people may have broken the law.
8
Guiliani has finally clarified what Trump's two year long "there's no collusion" "witch hunt" comments mean. Supposedly, all along, Trump only meant that he, Donald Trump, did not colluded with the Russians. He is trying to wall himself off from all the illegal/questionable activity around him. He has started to, and will continue to, claim that he knew nothing about the collusion that was going on around him. If he did know about it, he's lying. If he didn't know, he's incompetent. Either way, he doesn't deserve to be in office.
71
How long until Guiliani goes on TV and claims that Trump has consistently stated that he and the Russians colluded to keep Crooked Hillary from becoming President, which was a perfectly legal thing for them to do?
65
@David When Trump's fall comes, I fully expect him to argue that he was acting as a Democratic operative the whole time, and that his entire shambolic Presidency was actually a covert operation to expose the Republicans.
6
Next Giuliani interview:
"Contusions? I never said there were never any contusions in the campaign. I did see a few Band Aids once or twice on the staff. And Sarah did appear a bit black-and-blue on a couple of occasions in recent moths.
"Confusion? I never said there was never any confusion among the staff. But Mr. Trump was never, ever confused!
"Delusions? There may have been few delusions among some of the staff. But Mr. Trump was never ever delusional! Remember, he's a stable genius!
"Collusion...? Oh that!" Pause. "Never mind....!"
29
There was no collusion to not collude, but there was some collusion to collude, but only from a limited amount of colluders colluding. Got it?
38
Honestly, does anyone take Rudy Giuliani seriously anymore? If so, why? He has the credibility of Kellyanne Conway.
109
@Robert Wood
Wait, in terms of credibility Kellyanne Conway is second only to the president. Rudy is is working hard to earn the bronze medal.
Trump's teams strategy is to only admit to things that there is overwhelming evidence for. So we have gone from no contacts with Russians, to meetings to discuss Russian adoption, to no collusion, to Trump did not know about it. At the rate Mueller is moving, there are strong indications that Giuliani's last position was that he always said that Trump was a Russian asset and that the Republican leadership was in cahoots.
10
Who knew! Nobody knew!
3
Jeez. Having Guiliani for your lawyer is like having a boat for your airplane.
Seriously, he must feel some kind of compunction to tell the truth in spite of himself. He's doing more damage to 45 than almost anyone else. I wonder if on some level his conscience gets the better of him and he blurts out what he really thinks instead of the lies he'd been told to propagate.
26
@Von Jones Agreed with the exception that Rudy has no conscience to be bothered by.
1
"The only ones I checked with obviously are the top four or five people," so asserted "counselor" Giuliani. Most attorneys would be more thorough; maybe do a bit more digging, lest they be accused of malpractice.
Of course, silly me, Rudy's not functioning as an attorney. He's not even "acting" as one for Trump or the office of the president. He's providing only bad public relations and lame attempts at distractions from the Trump train wreck.
15
Why Trump continues to let Giuliani speak for and represent him is as mystifying as any of the myriad foolish decisions that he has made. Not that I'm complaining: with him as counsel, Trump is almost guaranteed to go to jail eventually.
22
@Leslie Fatum
Very likely just part of DJT's circus; put out as much conflicting information as possible all the time. Then when the cards fall, pick which story suits you best. Also, just another distraction, a tool for Trump.
2
Leslie Fatum,
Rudy must have agreed to work pro bono.
Trump is a notorious cheapskate.
3
So what about Clinton campaign colluding with FBI with that constructed paid for with campaign funds dossier?
@Joe Yoh
Yo, Joe:
Yeah, so what about it? It was originally commissioned and paid for by a Conservative lobbying firm.
And who cares about whoever paid for it? If what it says is true, it doesn't matter who paid for it. (Unlike Trump's campaign, which paid to get polls to lie!)
Keep digging, and maybe you'll get yourself out of the hole....
4
Rudolph W. Giuliani has gone from "America's Mayor" to "America's Disgrace" and this is now how history will remember him. Rudy and Donald need to do a better job getting all their lies straight.
17
What I said is not what I said.
15
I understand that Giuliani is not taking a salary while representing Trump. Apparently the old saying is true - you get what you pay for.
16
This statement by Giuliani is essentially an admission that proof of the Trump campaign's collusion (which is the crime of "conspiracy against the United States") is coming, and Giuliani knows it. So he is preparing a defensive position in advance of that revelation.
It is also an indication that Trump indeed knew about the collusion and approved it. Trump is a notorious micro-manager who signs all the checks and approves all the major steps before underlings can proceed. His people would not go ahead with a conspiracy that involved the hostile Russian state without his knowing about it. For one thing, they would want to cover their backsides; for another, they would want credit with the boss for a campaign coup, if it succeeded. These are not professional politicians, they are boot-licking business hacks who do not do things for the good of the cause.
No lawyer would make an admission like this (even a demented one like Giuliani) unless he felt he had no choice. He knows what is coming, and it is not good for his crooked client. He is engaging in "unlikely insistance" all throughout this interview, but especially when he says the only crime is the DNC hack. Sorry, Rudy; try "conspiracy against the United States", the peace-time equivalent of treason.
48
The fact that this blowhard manages to sneak in an accusation about Clinton while he's trying to clean up yet another disastrous outburst of his own and that it then gets into print as its own paragraph in this article is really depressing. Don't the authors of this article have a responsibility to clarify that there are no credible allegations of collusion by the Clinton campaign but there are actual indictments and a long history of lies on the part of Giuliani and the various members of the "upper level" of the Trump campaign?
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@Stuart
Right. The NYT editors should not have published the false accusation made by Giuliani about the Clinton campaign without including a clarifying statement. Why provide the Trump defenders with credibility they don't deserve? Why give them the means to deflect attention?
16
The accusation is a tell. Powerful women terrify him.
4
I’d say now you’re just embarassing yourself, Rudy, but we passed that point at roughly the speed of light about 14 months ago.
8
Plausible deniability is a defense that should wait until his kids are perp walked.
4
I knew it, Giuliani has been on drugs for many months. Now he pops up with a totally different facial ID, the manic smile and pogo stick energy down the drain.
Seriously, the news media should be examining this. Giuliani is mental. Of course those of us paying attention saw he was unstable a few years ago. Nevertheless a transformation is beyond obvious.
Why at this point the NYTs has not conducted a forensic autopsy on the man I can't fathom, the man is a cartoon.
6
Rudy's incompetence is matched only by the dishonesty of his client.
18
Past time that the bar association look into Rudy and consider disbarring him for obstruction and lying in public forums.
25
Giuliani has been a disaster as Trump’s mouthpiece. Roy Cohn cannot be replaced.Rudy G is not nearly as adept at adjusting the truth as Trump. Trump is the master at truth manipulation. Rudy G has a lot to learn. But give him credit he huffs and he puffs as he provides his version of truth.
Could you please fact-check/elaborate on Guiliani's "collusion of the Clinton campaign with Russia" remark?
5
I think Trump needs to pay Giuliani hush money.
109
Poor Rudy, all over the place with this....Does he have any credibility after taking up for trump? He seems to want to end his career in embarrassment and lies and absurd statements. Of course that is the trump play book that has ruined the careers of many.
222
Either Giuliani is mentally ill and prone to fits of honesty or he is carefully floating new adjustments to the collusion denial story and then retracting them, Trump style. Say a little bit of everything and pretty soon, everyone is confused.
But why this admission now that the Trump campaign might have colluded with the Russians (he says he has no idea if they did or didn't, which sounds like an ad for blonde peroxide, does she or doesn't she?).
It may have something to do with the gathering storm called Mueller that is reaching the Trump coastline. Michael Cohen, who is just full of surprises like paying for doctored Trump polls, will be testifying on Feb 7 to a House Committee. Transcripts of past House Committee testimony by Donald Jr and other close associates are now being reviewed in light of new evidence from cooperation agreements. Subpoenas are being drafted. And who knows what other secrets are being held closely by Mueller's team?
Like a mob boss, Trump has gone to great lengths to insulate himself from written or recorded communications. But then he was revealed to have drafted the initial cover up memo about the Trump Tower meeting that he supposedly didn't know anything about, a memo that later had to be retracted when evidence emerged.
There is great legal jeopardy for close Trump associates and family members, as the Mueller net closes toward the center, where the biggest fish are. Expect more indictments before the Mueller report is released.
125
Let's skip ahead to the go-to defense when the evidence of collusion is revealed . . . there were thousands of people who worked on the campaign, how could we have known?
29
@Kvetch
No, I think the defense will be more like, "but collusion is not a crime!"
2
Any prosecutor worth their salt relies on evidence to advance a case. The evidence Giuliani provides reduces to a pattern of public statement that are often exaggerated, disproven, unreliable, inconsistent, and filled with falsehoods.
One could surmise his 'approach' is to create distractions and deflections for the perceived, short-term benefit of his client--a President that is under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for possible criminal conspiracy with a hostile foreign power.
His statements are colored by his purposes. He cannot be taken at face value.
22
At this point, why does the media even bother to report what Giuliani says? He's only there to sway public opinion in favor of Trump (which he's not doing a very good job of, except perhaps with respect to Trump's base which doesn't need any persuasion). When Giuliani is caught in a lie, he will claim that he made a mistake and/or that it was he who lied, not the President, and/or claim that lying while not under oath is not a crime. Just stop giving him air time or other media coverage and hopefully he will just fade away.
425
@Jay Orchard
Cultural Marxist media approach--let the masked Berkeley "free speech" street-thugs shutdown any opposition speech that is contrary to the "agreed upon" Grand Collective narrative coming out of New York City's mass-media central.
1
@Jay Orchard
His unhinged rantings are for entertainment value only.
8
@Alice's Restaurant - Sorry, but a real capitalist knows that a privately owned newspaper doesn't owe interviews or exposure to anyone.
5
When someone constantly lies to me, I quit asking them questions. Just saying. Reliable source he ain't, I don't care who is paying him.
314
@UncleEddie
Hey Uncle Eddie, I totally agree, that’s how I deal with liars. I’ve often said, if someone like Trump were to emerge in our local politics, talking like Trump, saying things like Trump, we would drum him out of this town in a heartbeat. Somehow parts of this country enjoy being lied to. I’ll never understand it.
8
I follow this story closely and even I'm feeling confused by Giuliani's conflicting statements.
Next he'll be arguing that he, Giuliani, did not collude with the Russian government.
At least Trump keeps it simple:
Regardless of recommendations, I was going to fire Comey.
No collusion, no collusion.
No puppet, no puppet.
24
This administration has a well-docoumented history of emphatic denials, tepid denials, amended denials, and, of course, the omnipresent revisionist denials.
189
@Leisa
Scary thing is that William Barr takes Trump at face value in his denial of collusion. Most criminals start off with an emphatic denial.
1
@Leisa
Not quite right.
Trump's first response is not typically a denial.
It's moral outrage, laced with self-righteous indignation, as in 'how dare you accuse me of..."
Then it moves to denial.
3
@two cents
"Then it moves to denial." But not until he has acused anyone he can come up with of everything he can think of.
1
OK. Now that we cleared that up, what's next from
the brilliant legal mind of Mr. Guilianii?
Criminal behavior is not illegal or maybe illegal activities are not a crime?
145
@LT It's going to be: pardoning all of my colluding campaign staff is no big deal.
5
@Michael Shepherd
He will probably go with the "If nobody saw it, it didn't happen" defense.
I'm not sure how the NIH's (National Institute of Health) budget has been affected by recent negotiations but someone over there should conduct a study as to whether stupidity is infectious. If the budget was cut, they can limit the control group to just Republicans. If they were furloughed they can winnow it down to just Ex NYC mayors. Either way they should, at least quarantine the West Wing immediately. Safety first.
79
"Mr. Giuliani’s backpedaling was the latest in a series of conflicting comments he has made about the investigation of the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III."
It's hard for Giuliani to backpedal because he's so good at putting his foot in his mouth.
80
It would almost be funny if it were not so pathetically sad, and possibly criminal.
106
Rudy has gone off the rails so often he forgets his unique brand of 'truth-telling,' which is to obfuscate, distort, or just old fashioned out-right lie.
Then again he represents another of the many fine "best people" that Trump has brought into his administration.
42
I think Rudy meant there was "no collusion" because the entire campaign staff consisted of Russian operatives. Collusion can't exist if the conspiracy was this obvious. Is it 2020 yet?
53
First there was no collusion. Then collision is not a crime and now some people may have collusion within the campaign. Bizzaro world. Just imagine this was Obama or any other dem.
67
@Robert - this is why the right often sets the conversation - Fox (and others) would lead with this story every hour for weeks.
The same attack options don't exist on the Left
3
@Robert
Collusion is legally meaningless. Conspiracy is the crime.
“I said the president of the United States. " Of course at the time Trump was not the President of the United States, he was the President-elect.
30
So it was President Obama who colluded with the Russians during the 2016 election. Of course!
1
The last time we saw such assertions and qualified denials was involving Trump’s payment to Ms. Clifford. First, “this is an obscenity.” Then there “was no payment,” and Clifford was lying. Then, “I don’t know anything about this.” Then, as more evidence comes to light, “there was a payment but it was all Michael Cohen.” Next, “I knew about it, but there is nothing illegal.”
I imagine they’ll pretty much follow the same script with this.
380
does this even matter anymore? is it not obvious at this point -- based solely on the court filings for manafort, cohen, flynt and butina -- that there is a clear path to a conspiracy?
25
How many former campaign officials are now convicted felons? Seems like it was anything goes during the campaign for officials to enrich themselves and get Trump elected. The election must have seemed like untold riches at the end of the rainbow, to this corrupt gang.
When the news reports the latest shifting excuse to protect Trump, I think of that old saying that fish rots from the head down.
32
@Heidi
FBI examination of financial records of New York City's upper one percent would, in all probability, yield even more tax felonies.
1
@Alice's Restaurant yes that would include Trump, Kushner, etc.
@jeffk
Perhaps, but would be nice to tag a couple hundred NYC one-percenters. De Blasio could fill his jails with them and open up a bunch of high-end condos.
"I don't know Stormy Daniels, there was no payment, I didn't know about the payment, it was a private transaction...and now... No collusion, just the little guys were colluding, President didn't know, maybe there was but not by me...the lies pile up and explanations change, but the true facts remain. Conspiracy with a foreign power, obstruction are the crimes. Trump team keeps saying collusion because it is not a crime. And now we are getting close so they will try to hide the final report. But in the end the Senate will ignore the findings and keep Trump in power.
6
The constant hair splitting of words has gotten so bad that I carefully parse everything anyone says. For instance, when he says “The President” did not collude, does leave open the possibility that a pre-inaugural Mr. Trump did?
Nixon said the people deserve to know if their president is a crook. This president doesn’t want you to know.
47
Anything Giuliani says is useless. If not for lawyer-client privilege he should be dragged before Muller’s committee and congressional investigations.
12
Mr. Giuliani provides little more than another sideshow and distraction from the meaningful facts that we've followed and that are emerging. His "was/was not" and "is/is not" roundabout way of answering the questions leaves this reader wondering why Trump hired him in the first place. One day he says “ . . . I have no knowledge of any collusion by any of the thousands of people who worked on the campaign.” I took that to mean thousands. Yet, on another day, the term "Trump campaign" means only 4 or 5 people. In this case, perhaps truth isn't truth. I'm sorry, Eileen and Maggie, but there's more useful information to be found in a department store sale circular than there is in this report. You are dealing with an obfuscation man, and it must be sheer misery trying to make journalism from his ramblings.
6
Rudy, we feel your pain -- and confusion. With clear evidence that some Trump campaign people communicated with the Russians, it's difficult to believe that Trump knew nothing about it. Unless he's arrogant, clueless, totally unconnected with his subordinates. Until he fires them.
6
It is not possible for djt to pass up any deal offered by the Russians, after all he is the”king” of deal making.
4
This is an evolving narrative from a group of shysters. We can be sure...
There was collusion and Trump knew about it.
There was social media assistance from the Russians and Trump knew about it.
There was rigging of polls by Cohen and Trump knew about it.
There was computer hacking of the opposition and Trump knew about it.
Trump is an illegitimately elected president and must be removed from office post haste for the good of the country. This is our darkest hour!
287
@Mike
"This is our darkest hour!" you wrote.
Every day I think the scandals and corruption can get no worse--and every day I am wrong.
Is there anybody else out there wondering how long sane Americans (are there very many of us?) can go on like this? Is our situation in any way similar to Henry II's exasperation with Thomas a Becket? "Who," Henry ranted, "will rid me of this man?"
While I certainly I don't recommend the remedy that solved Henry II's problem--unlike Trump's call for help from "the Second Amendment folks"--I still long for relief.
When, oh when will it be Mueller Time?
19
@Mike, I think the most important element of our time in the US is that Trump is an illegitimate President. This idea ought to be printed, chanted, repeated as much as possible. There is no way to know whether it’s “true”, but there are so many reasons (including the popular vote), to feel this way about it. And it’s what is most important for the country. The man is a fraud. He won, but only by cheating. The Lance Armstrong, the Russian athlete, of the Presidency. I will never think of him otherwise.
9
I miss Tim Russert. He would have played those clips with Giuliani sitting across from him.
66
What's next? Giuliani claiming Trump, nor anyone in his campaign, led the crowds in 'Lock Her Up' chants.
10
The internet never forgets.
16
So the Clinton campaign conspired with the Russians to help elect Trump? What is the evidence?
17
Donnie sits in the “Ivan” Office this morning and says to himself, “With comrades like Guliani, who needs enemies”.
7
When Rudy911 says "likewise," what he really means is "on the other hand." He's saying again that he was unaware of all the collusion carried out by the campaign.
The old Boss has no knowledge defense.
Great to see Baghdad Bob back in the news.
7
Any sane, self-respecting, person would never have hired this fool as a lawyer. But... Trump has burned through so many, what's left are the dregs. Good for us!
Come on, Rudy! Keep pushing that foot down!
--
Things Trump Did While You Weren’t Looking [2019]
https://wp.me/p2KJ3H-3h2
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