I find it extraordinary that Guiliani would think that anyone, anyone at all would believe anything he said.
9
How is it possible given the mountain of evidence that this fallen man walks freely spewing propaganda and muddying the waters in this flood of criminal activity? If this man is not subpoenaed indicted and taken to court then who can? Certainly not Donald Trump the ringmaster
7
Why does Trump keep this guy? This whole impeachment probably never would have happened if it weren't for Giuliani.
2
The best part is that they are using Ukrainian citizens “testimony” about US policy and procedure as evidence to trump supporters that the legitimate impeachment process is a sham. Twisted stuff. Why would it matter that a Ukrainian citizen thinks trump was justified?
3
We will see whether the Constitution and the rule of law prevail in America or whether a band of self-serving, treacherous men succeed in a propaganda war against the facts. And those facts are that Trump has abused his presidential power flagrantly and with arrogance. He not only involved himself in trying to cheat & corrupt the outcome of 2016's election but has tried again to do the same for 2020 through bribery and intimidation of foreign governments. And he masterminded and led the campaign to do so. We have no kings. It is yet to be determined how important Americans know or believe that is. No man is above the law.
8
If Trump didn't do anything wrong, then why is his personal lawyer Giuliani in the Ukraine making this propaganda film anyway? Why don't both of them just present verifiable facts?
But then, why was Trump's PERSONAL lawyer, not a US Attorney, State Dept attorney or employee, in Ukraine, make these deals looking for dirt anyway? That alone says it was a personal witch hunt and not a foreign policy issue being discussed.
5
Rudy Giuliani is helping Trump wage an information war against the House Judicary Committee and discredit the impeachment inquiry. They are so desperate that they don’t hesitate to tap some of Ukraine’s most controversial figures for their doc film, in an effort to reach out to those Americans who might still be ready to buy their narrative and vote for Trump next year.
Today in Ukraine Rudy Giuliani met with a lawmader, Andriy Derkach, one of the key figures working to build a corruption case against Hunter Biden.
Derkach plans to set up an anti-corruption group in the Ukrainian parliament. He said he had sent letters to prominent Republicans like Lindsay Graham, Devin Nunes and Mick Mulvaney, seeking their support in investigating corruption, that would help expose the ineffective use of American taxpayers’ dollars by Ukrainian authorities. This action may aim to justify Trump’s suspension of nearly $400 million in military assistance to Ukraine and prove that there was no abuse of power on his part.
Giuliani, like Barr, are short-sighted. They don’t care about their place in history. According to Barr: “Everyone dies,” he said. “I don’t believe in the Homeric idea that … immortality comes by … having odes sung about you over the centuries.”
5
"Some of the Ukrainians interviewed by Mr. Giuliani were sworn in on camera to “testify under oath” in a manner that the network claims “debunks the impeachment hoax.”' What is this supposed to mean? Sworn in to what "court"? Things with Giuliani get whacker everyday. The worst is those that will believe/agree with this "documentary".
Each day brings more disruption by this administration's surrogates/sycophants, as well as by 45 himself. History will be filled with more "good/bad" people than ever before.
4
He should stay in Russia if he loves it there so much. He should remember how this used to be said of “communist sympathizers” in the fifties. Such a fascinating psychology portrait: the man who helped rebuild America after foreign attack now the lead architect of a foreign attack in the US.
2
This “documentary” sounds like “must-not-watch” TV.
4
Who is paying for this misadventure? The US tax payer?
6
Documentary by Rudy? You have to be kidding me. Can’t think of anything more ludicrous. If there was anything substantive to be revealed the Trump sycophants at Fox would have aired it months ago. But, at the same time I smile when I think, so you’re relying on “testimony” from the people Trump calls the most corrupt in the world? (Which btw the Ukrainians, while not angels , are not - trump has a “close” relationship the with the folks who hold the most corrupt title.)
3
Thank you Rudy for proving why impeachment is the correct remedy rather than waiting until an election.
This is direct evidence that Trump and Rudy are still trying to get help from Ukraine to interfere in our election, and not impeaching would enable them to do this with even more countries including China.
3
I always thought if it wasn't based on facts, you call it a propaganda film. You can't document things that you made up. You can just try to get people to buy them.
15
Everytime I hear or see the name Giuliani I now feel pain. The consigliere of Trump's mob family is amoral and has lost his marbles.
11
So now he wants to involve a foreign country in the impeachment process? Can you say tone deaf?
19
Is it fair to wonder if the SDNY has already convened a grand jury in order to present prima facie evidence for criminal indictments against Mr. Giuliani? If so, his relentless pursuit of proven fictions--still in service of (though light years from any form of legal representation of) our imposter president--can only serve to bolster such a case. Please, SDNY, expedite!
15
It's not about the Bidens. When Giuliani returns he should be held in contempt of congress. If you murder someone because you relative died in a car accident with them, it's still murder. Period. Motive never trumps action.
7
I would hope that most Americans are not gullible enough to believe a docuseries espousing a narrative against impeachment. Gulliani has enlisted corrupt Ukrainian officials as actors with their own agendas. That facts of the inquiry that Mr. Trump sought a quid pro quo are indisputable and confirmed by members of his own administration. I also wonder if Kate McKinnon of Saturday Night Live will play Gullianni, with grotesquely long finger nails and vampire cape. Now that would be something to watch.
6
Rudolph Giuliani has become a grotesque contortion of who he appeared to be in the early-mid 1980s and as "America's Mayor" (meh.) in early 2000s. SHAME should be his new last name.
He should, imho, be stripped of his British title, post haste. Also, he ought be brought to trial possibly in both criminal and civil courts and, if convicted, thrown in jail with some of the lifers he threw in jail in the 1980s or with some of folks subjected to police brutality during his watch. Somewhere in there, disbarment might be in order.
9
So, he is getting his/Trump's "investigations" in a made-for-TV show which will make all the sleazy accusations and show them on American TV as "documentary" facts (actually "alternative facts"). In short, Rudi is still pursuing foreign help to re-elect Trump. Dirty, unethical, but may actually work with the low-information voters hungry for an alternative story and/or conspiracy theory to entertain, excite, and enrage them. The apparently is no bottom for this man, Trump, and their hangers on.
14
Rudy is looking for the formerly corrupt pro Russian Ukrainians is absurd, especially in that Rudy is already being investigated by the US Attorneys Office.
Also, months ago it was noted that contemptuous divorce trial was scheduled for this January.
Rudy is a busy man searching the world for his version of his truth.
6
Nothing beats defending oneself from criminal accusations like staying the course of criminal conduct.
11
Trump has a PATTERN of openly, on record, inviting foreign countries to meddle in our elections.
1. Back in 2016 Trump asked the Russians to help him win against Clinton: “Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,”
2. Trump also asked China to investigate the Bidens, again, on record:
“If they [Ukraine] were honest about it, they would start a major investigation into the Bidens,” Trump said. “Likewise, China should start an investigation into the Bidens. Because what happened in China is just about as bad as what happened with Ukraine.”
3. Also, there is a transcript of Mr. Mueller's testimony in the House:
SCHIFF: “Trump and his campaign welcomed and encouraged Russian interference?”
MUELLER: “Yes.”
SCHIFF: “And then Trump and his campaign lied about it to cover it up?”
MUELLER: “Yes.”
Bottom line: the Ukraine affair is the most egregious but not THE ONLY instance of Trump's treasonous behavior.
9
The degree of Giuliani’s misrepresentations have no limits. He accuses Adam Schiff of not allowing evidence to exonerate Trump, while he and others defy house subpoenas, and present no factual evidence to contrary of the Democrats arguments.
11
Bookending Hamilton, one cannot wait for the debut of Guiliani the Musical.
8
Rudy' "fact finding" mission/documentary is just another effort to muddy the waters, create still another false, excuse me, "alternative" narrative and generally confuse and weary an already drained an d exhausted populace.
When will this end?
3
The president is being subject to an impeachment process that includes shadow diplomacy with Giuliani at the center of it, and the best thing Guiliani comes up with is to document on tape how he performs official roles without being a public official. This will be better than the so-called WH transcript.
I was aware that Giuliani has exhibit criminal behavior and that he is being investigated by the authorities but I was under the impression that he was, at least, savvy but he seems to be producing the equivalent of Nixon's tapes.
2
When you live in a flawed alternate reality, and something exposes the true reality, nothing left to do but augment or craft a new narrative. Confusion and misperception is the new reality. Legal speaking, Giuliani is creating a shadow of doubt.
14
Actually Giuliani is in Europe to delay as long as possible, through extradition proceedings, facing the charges for which he will shortly be indicted in the US and gain advantages that extradition treaties will afford him to limit those charges once he's back in the US.
7
Trump & Giuliani have invested so much time and energy in going after Biden, Trump’s supposed challenger in 2020, what will they do if it’s Warren, Klobuchar, Bloomberg or other non-Biden? Will he continue to pursue the Biden-Ukraine theory? Or will T&G try to link any Democrat to “suspicious” Ukrainian activity? It will be pretty obvious when Trump’s interest in Biden comes to an end.
8
Documentaries are based on fact. What Giuliani is up to is fabricating a conspiracy theory that is void of factual evidence. He is filming a political Yeti, supposedly working with Bigfoot.
15
Legal speaking, Giuliani is creating a shadow of doubt. Fact or not... sad in either case. It shows you that this administration will stop at nothing to retain their dirty grasp on power.
3
The case must be one of two in that either:
(1) Giuliani is the world's stupidest criminal by returning to the nearby scene of the crime; in ranking just one above Donald Trump ranked as #2 in stupidity. Or:
(2) Trump has Giuliani convinced that he will be permitted by Trump to also act above the law, due to his infamous words he had stated:
"As president, I could do whatever I want to do."
In this case to benefit both Rudy and he in being a Dictator.
10
Why does this man still possess a passport? He is a flight risk. He disgraces his country, and now we let him disgrace us abroad.
11
They should detain him in a foreign country, he is not a diplomat formally... that would be awesome.
3
When you're too crooked and cowardly to testify the truth, then of course, just make a movie to show how your make-believe fantasy is real!
9
This whole thing is why people don't trust politicians. No matter the political party, they find a way to connect because of who they know, and get money because of it. It is just different kinds of levels of corruption, and millions of dollars. It is like, it all rises to the top. Those in this country who are eligible to vote should just get behind Michael Bloomberg, and we could have some normal government going forward the next four years, if he could win the nomination for the Democratic Party, and then the election next November. I don't know how much more of this the general public can take.
6
My prediction: If, as appears likely, Trump is impeached in the house and not convicted in the senate, he and Rudi will triple down on (non-existent) corruption by the Bidens. Expect over 1000 tweets on the subject during spring, summer and early fall 2020. Nah, make that 2000.
6
Some call it "conducting interviews" others call it fleeing the country to avoid law enforcement.
16
How about "fleecing" the country...
2
why is he allowed to retain his passport ,wouldn't he be considered a flight risk?
13
I don’t approve of Rudy in the least. Nonetheless, that is not the law. He is not charged. A judge would need to order him to surrender his passport.
1
It is sickening and heart wrenching that Trump, Nunez, Giuliani, et al (Republicans) are so willing to defile our Democracy and undermine the values of our Constitution. Naked greed, power, and disregard for humanity. The egoism that drives these people and their followers knows no bounds - how have Republicans come to embrace despotism??? There is some small hope in next year’s election, but I continue to fear the fatal flaw in our Constitution - the Senate. There is virtually no balance of power when so few can dictate the direction of our country.
23
This may be just some bogus excuse to remain outside the US. Curious to see if he will return to US soil anytime soon. Perhaps guys in suits are waiting for his return with the intention to meet him as soon as he gets back.
Perhaps the NYT can enlighten us if the countries he is currently visiting have an extradition agreement with the US or not.
Just curious to know..
6
Rudy- he just doesn't stop !! It's incredible.
5
Making a documentary film, eh? I didn't think he has enough money to pay for all the CGI req'd ...
5
The documentary can be titled " The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight- Part II" , or " Goodfellas Go to Ukrania".
9
Poor Rudy
He just never learned and he is about finished...
trump is done with him.
6
So—will they be waiting to arrest Rudy when he steps back onto US soil?
8
I find it difficult to believe Giuliani still hasn’t been indicted!
13
Why hasn't Rudy been locked up yet?
18
@expat
its pity...
for what he once was.
1
Vampires can turn into mist and flow through bars.
7
Don't tell me. This is a Dinesh D'Souza Production, right?
18
See my excerpt thoughts on why Ukraine is the center of the Trump-Russia saga! It gets deep into all this Putin, Giuliani, Nunes, Burisma, & Biden stuff! Giuliani is very much in the thick of this, but he was clearly carrying out Trump's will, NOT freelancing, as I note here: https://realcontextnews.com/a-song-of-gas-and-politics-how-ukraine-is-at-the-center-of-trump-russia-or-ukrainegate-a-new-phase-in-the-trump-russia-saga-made-from-recycled-materials-ebook-preview-excerpt/
5
Yes Rudy - you got the smoking gun: Democrats conspired with Ukrainians so they could lose the election and blame the Russians. Also Hillary invented climate change.
16
A good time for Rudy Colludi to be out of the country.
13
This mirrors Putin’s propaganda machine - create alternative “truth” and keep broadcasting it. Aka case with shutting down civilian aircraft over Ukraine few years back. Produced all kind of “expert” opinions to sink the truth. The other case is tinting Russian Olympic participants urine samples.
5
Giuliani in a docudrama? What a hoot! When he's done everyone whose name is Donald will be in prison!
7
I really object to my tax dollars being spent on this charlatan's travels to Ukraine.
7
How are tax dollars involved ?
It appears that a who's who of Russian and American mobsters have teamed up and taken over our government and nullified our democracy. Just look at all the characters in this criminal enterprise extending into Congress itself - with at least 71 pro-Russian Republicans.
Obviously Giuliani, like trump, are counting on corrupting yet another election successfully so that their impunity can continue indefinitely. They can even use a corrupt re-election to justify Barr shutting down the S.D.N.Y. They know the game is up if trump is ousted. No way will they allow a legitimate clean election to happen in 2020.
The weakness with democracies in banana republics is that it can be manipulated by wealthy criminal parties that can easily overwhelm and subvert any government and social institutions. Once in power, they know if they lose power they become accountable to the law. So they break more laws to ensure they do not lose power.
Anyone think trump will not scorch our planet to a cinder to stay in power indefinitely?
21
What if he doesn't come back? Do we have extradition?
Do we want extradition?
8
I'd like to know what media/ads Democrats are producing to educate/move the public on the Ukraine scandal and impeachment. I've seen a lot of Republican ads/efforts, but I haven't seen any Democratic ones. Are Dems doing anything???? I'm in CA so maybe I'm just not in the target market. I'd like to see Dems at least make a fight of it, instead of being outplayed in the media wars as per usual.
7
@Rita Mitsouko - Late night comedians have been doing a pretty good job of explaining the situation.
Giuliani has become an unapologetic villain. The trouble is he was likely always one. His current character is likely not a "new" Rudy. Everything Giuliani as ever done should be revisited from his activities as a former prosecutor, Mayor of NYC and his private life as a business person. Dirty now; dirty then. Self-serving now; self-serving then. He was once referred to as "America's Mayor." Look at him now: The president's accomplice.
15
This sounds like a fictional "Rudy Show". Some TV entertainment for conservatives that has nothing to do with reality.
3
I assume that this "documentary" will be aired on Fox and Fox and Friends?
5
More very unfortunate information that shows how our would-be Republican overlords understand the psychology of popularity. Meanwhile, the Democratic opposition meanders through a thick forest of damning facts and impeachable conduct believing that by doing the 'right' thing they will achieve the popularity they require.
Impeachment is a political act. And in a democracy, politics are ultimately tied to popularity. The Republicans understand how to be popular enough, and to make their opponents appear unpopular enough to achieve their goals. I don't think the Democrats have any idea of where they're going, how they're going to get there, or what they'll do if they actually arrive at their destination.
1
Wouldn't it be ironic if Rudy was arrested in Kiev for his role in blackmailing the Ukraine government.
9
Why is his passport not impounded? This is beyond flight risk, it’s collusion3.0 How is Putin not rubbing his hands with glee?
8
Infomercial, not documentary
8
A “fauxcumentary,” if you will.
5
"Documentary?" A documentary--at least that I am acquainted with--implies a factual basis, "documented" by papers, letters, testimony, etc. Since there is no factual basis--none has been documented, including by real lawyers and investigators, including those opposed to the Bidens and backing Trump, Rudy's film would be better styled as propaganda or agitprop.
4
I'm thinking he's over there doing damage control, the film crew is the excuse to be there, and if they can get a video out of it, all the better for them.
4
What difference does it make whether it was Ukraine or Russia that hacked the 2016 election? It is clear that Trump was elected only as the result of foreign intervention. My guess is that Giuliani is now organizing Ukrainians to help him get re-elected.
3
I'm looking forward to his explanation of why subpoenas are suddenly "optional".
I'll bet they weren't back when he was the DA of New York City.
5
Exhaustion . Bewildered exhaustion.
15
The Republican-Russian corruption of the 2020 election continues unabated, regardless of the impeachment.
Giuliani exemplifies the impunity "everyone in the loop" feel as they continue to subvert America's democracy on behalf of the Republicans and the Russians.
America is no different than North Korea and Russia - the democracies the Republicans are replicating here in America. Indeed, just try voting Kim, Putin or trump out of office!
5
You can’t make this stuff up.
11
I looked up the ambassador, Corstein. Wkipedia is not so kind to him as reporter Vogel. It states: “He is from New York and his business background is in running gambling operations, high-end used jewelry, and telemarketing.”
Perfect for an ambassador from Trump!
5
Clinton Cash Redux.
Giuliani's trip is proof positive that Trump and associates will continue to bribe, extort and illegally invite foreign interference in our elections.
Trump's first excuse for withholding aid from Ukraine was that European countries weren't paying their fair share. Of course, that excuse quickly evaporated when evidence came out of his true intentions, which were to withhold the needed aid from Ukraine until they produced a smear campaign against Trump's political rival. Trump wasn't interested in corruption at all. He didn't even request an investigation, just an announcement of an investigation. And here we go again with more of the same. If our country doesn't impeach Trump, there is no offense that we wouldn't accept. Our founders would be horrified.
17
Producing this documentary is sure to take a bite out of Trump's 9 hours of executive time.
How will he do it?
9
Giuliani is literally doing just what he accuses the Bidens of doing: making corrupt deals with Ukrainians. And he's doing it to help Trump dodge accountability for trying to make corrupt deals with Ukrainians.
Give him and his boss credit for unqualified brazenness. But that brazenness only works in the context of a certain incredulity from the American media. It's as if the media keeps saying to itself, "He must have at least some shred of a legitimate motive. He can't just be doing what he appears to be doing."
Yes, he can.
10
The traditional approach would be to testify in front of the Congressional committes under oath. That should clear things up pretty quickly, if you actually are innocent.
13
The very definition of insanity- a plea state he may well need to employ.
6
If promoting the false narrative that Ukraine intervened in the election helps Russia, is that treason? If delaying military and political assistance to Ukraine helps Russia, is that treason? If it turns out that Rudy is receiving funding through Parnas from Russian, then is it treason?
The reason we are not asking such serious questions is that Rudy is like Inspector Clouseau. We just can't believe this crazy behavior is deliberate and happening out in the open. But we can't allow their seeming competence, i.e they couldn't collude if they wanted to, to mask their treason.
9
Juliani is openly guilty of treason, the crime of betraying one’s country.
Defying facts from taxpayer-supported U.S. intelligence, ambassadorial experts, and American legal experts, he is now openly and with a self-advertised brazen attitude, traveling to the scene of perhaps only one of many crimes to make videos of fake “news” which are damaging to our country.
How is it that this man’s evil behavior is even allowed in the U.S.? Free speech can be allowed, but not when a man who knows better, uses former foreign government officials to debase the U.S. and promote a deliberate misunderstanding of our country’s reality as determined by large numbers of professionals representing the electorate and paid for taxpayers money. Juliani does not represent the electorate; he represents his own welfare. And free speech should not be allowed when he claims to be the President’s “personal” attorney, while he receives most of his remuneration from persons who originated outside the U.S.
This makes no sense, to allow a man paid for by mafia-like figures significantly from outside the U.S., to “be the President’s ‘personal attorney.’” Isn’t it more likely that history will see him as just another mafia attorney, and Trump is just another client, with mafia-like behavior, e.g. bullying, lying, and bulldozing anyone in his way ?
To paraphrase Fiona Hill, “Please Stop. You are furthering a myth promulgated by the Russian intelligence machine.”
7
Personal lawyer, and private citizen conducting foreign policy through new propaganda department established by Trump?
8
As if American propaganda weren't enough, now the New Yorker who specialized in it is making foreign propaganda to mess with us.
4
It's certainly cheap to produce a propaganda film there...
5
A false servant seeking false witnesses. What’s new.
3
Who is paying for that? Putin?
5
Of course Rudy is in Ukraine.
Where else would he be?
4
I wish he would just stay outside the US and never come back ...and also that the press would forget about him, so we could as well. What a crook!
3
Obstruction of justice seems an appropriate charge given the conclusions of 17 intelligence agencies and the senate intelligence committee (no mention of Urainei interference). Is there no end of the unpatriotic behavior (i.e furthering Russian interests) on his part? I hope to see him in penstripes not of the fancy suit variety. My father, deceased, but life long Rebublican, would not recognice the party today.
6
This nation population is more than 300 hundred million. About 64 million voted for trump. Can the majority of the population: 300 -64 just simply declare this Guiliani guy is a public nuisance and lock him up before he did some damage for this nation?
8
Claiming that the Ukrainian Pres has stated multiple times that he felt no pressure from Trump is like the battered wife with bruises and black eyes telling the cops at the door that her husband didn’t do anything.
21
Call Saul.
4
Russian Republicans hard at work undermining our democracy.
11
Hard to believe that Rudy was a functional and apparently successful prosecutor and the mayor of a huge city. He is paranoid and he has turned into a demented raving lunatic. How much money is he and Putin’s crew willing to spend on this fantasy game?
12
The good part is that no one but Trump's brain dead cultists will watch this 'documentary.' I don't even know where that network is on cable.
7
"Mission Accomplished!"
No matter where it goes from here, who hasn't heard by now that "somethings up" with Biden.
There accusations are out there. Which was Trumps intention in the first place.
Create smoke. And then remind voters that where there's smoke.......
Obama's birth certificate, Clinton's emails, Benghazi, and now Ukraine, Biden and Burisma...
6
America .... if you’re listening.
4
I am fed up with Rudy the Lying Lawyer running around internationally utilizing all the power that the United States represents to coerce foreigners. It would be like if somebody stole my car to intentionally hurt and kill others. The difference being that our president gave Rudy the car and said do whatever I want with it. This is MY country and having this smarmy man representing me is repelling.
14
The Russians are tapdancing that Trump's lawyer/friend/bagman/gofer is doing the Kremlin's work, and just in time, for the elections.
Putin is salivating and Trump will promote his documentary on state-TV, Fox News.
7
Former Ukrainian prosecutor, Yuriy Lutsenko,
internationally recognized as one of the most corrupt government officials in the history of Ukraine.
Was removed from office for? You guessed it: corruption.
The trump cesspool runs wide and deep.
9
I am sure that Giuliani is keeping Individual 1 in the loop regarding his visit in Ukraine and the progress being made in a cover up of the bribe offered to President Zelensky.
I wonder how long we are going to allow Giuliani and Individual 1 to keep thumbing their noses at the United States.
7
@Jean And for the phone records, that's individual -1
4
Where's all his ex-wives when you need them?
6
Regrettably Rudy has become a disgrace...
4
Will he interview Olena Zerkal (assistant foreign secretary in Ukraine who came out yesterday and said the Ukrainians knew about the arms aid suspension on July 25 2019)?
7
What's the saying? "When you're in a hole, stop digging." Anyone with half a brain would realize that Trump is being impeached in real time for the very acts that Giuliani is complicit in.
7
Why testify under oath when you can produce a mockumentry film?
7
Hope they have someone waiting at the airport to arrest Rudy when his plane back to the US lands.
11
Rudy Ghouliani, future permanent resident at the Trump Penitentiary & Towers, currently under construction on the former site of Mara Loco.
8
" Some of the Ukrainians interviewed by Mr. Giuliani were sworn in on camera to “testify under oath” in a manner that the network claims “debunks the impeachment hoax.”
Hahahahahahaha! Lol - a lot, even!
You can't even get Giuliani or Trump to testify here under oath.
The swearing "under oath" of these suspect Ukrainians in Ukraine is an oath to whom exactly? Giuliani? The Republican conservative cooked up faux show?
That's what I thought. Their testimony and 3 rubles will get you two stops down the line on Moscow's subway, maybe.
13
No, no, no - Giuliani should be confined to his home with no electronics. He is a menace, a meddler, and a muddler. Completely untrustworthy.
5
Rudy, yes - please find a new profession... making licence plates perhaps?
6
Perp-walk anyone?
6
@rich
Funny. I know a lot of people who are waiting for that action.
2
Can we bar his re-entry into the country? He’s a sell-out and a traitor, another errand boy for grocery clerks who should be impugned and locked away.
3
So the Apprentice Impeachment show is in progress, good luck with that. It just a really bad reaction to the incredible figures who testified at the House hearings, now that was a first rate production.
4
From the outside it would appear that all actual governance of the USA has been on a halt at least for the last 12 months, if not more. As far as I can tell, no major legislation has been passed since the tax laws. No new and ratified trade deals. No new international treaties. No new alliances - at least not with democracies. Instead, we have tariffs - and the associated false narrative that the target country somehow pays for the. The wall - and the false narrative that Mexico somehow pays for it. The Paris Clinate treaty - withdrawal from it and the false narrative that clinate change is a hoax. And on and on it goes, piece by piece crumbling away the global standing, credibility, trustworthiness and influence of the USA in the global arena. As a former resident of your once great country who admires what you (once) stood for, I for one am so very sad to see this happen.
12
@A voice from the Nordics Many of us in the USA are also sad to see the events you describe. We can only hope to withstand the trump administration onslaught and vote this aberration (along with his enablers) out of office in 11 months. At this point in time we'll take all of the emotional support we can get.
2
Hey, this is life imitating art! Anyone remember the 1997 movie Wag the Dog? The plot was that to divert attention from a president's scandal some Hollywood types create and film an artificial war. The particulars are a little different here, but the underlying concept is pretty much the same, especially if what this "documentary" is seeking to "document" is the wacky conspiracy theory of how it was the Ukrainians, not the Russians, who interfered in the 2016 elections.
The Times recently ran a story about how Rudy has booked millions from his "consulting" work, but I'm sure if he needs some cash for this venture his boss's pal Mr. Putin would be eager to invest, since he would be one of the main beneficiaries.
7
Trump and associates are still trying to get foreign help with a conspiratorial smear campaign against a political rival. This is more evidence that this illegal activity will never stop unless Trump is impeached.
5
Who is paying Rudy for all this travel and accommodations in Europe? He has been traveling for almost a year. On whose dime?
Supposedly, he is not being paid by Trump; but, if he is providing services to the government, isn’t he supposed to be paid for services rendered?
And, isn’t he conducting his own undercover business? This all seems very cloak and dagger and needs to be investigated
6
When members of - or proxies for - our government officials are engaging foreign powers to attack their domestic political adversaries, it is clear that Putin has pulled off the ultimate upset: we are at war with ourselves. A coup from within, perpetrated by the power-hungry and corrupt against their own brothers and sisters, rather than contemplate free and fair elections or abide by the rules of a democratic system.
The Democrats are right: Trump should be impeached, and he and his co-conspirators prosecuted and imprisoned. That includes the likes of Nunes and others who have engaged in morally bankrupt behavior to hang onto power.
7
This is farcical. If only it were happening on the stage.
3
How much taxpayer money is being spent on Trump cronies to travel the world to dig up dirt on Trump's possible 2020 opponent? How much taxpayer money is being spent by Trump cronies to expand their personal wealth by creating the private business interests? Hard working taxpayers want to know.
9
I looked up the term “loose cannon” in the dictionary. I found a picture of His Rudyness.
6
I want to know who is paying for all of Rudy's expenses as he flits around Ukraine and other European cities multiple times over the last few years. How is he reimbursed since he isn't an official employee of the U.S. government?
6
I will dance when he’s behind bars!
Come on SDNY.
4
Wind him up release him to soldier on as the oracle of fantasy and nonsense. Irrepressible Rudy systematically transforming himself from the nation's mayor into, well a clown best describes his career path.
3
Giuliani meets the corrupt former Ukrainian prosecutor Lutsenko in Hungary, to dig up more dirt, while the latter obviously can't meet him in his home country of Ukraine because he would be arrested there.
And that meeting is held in yet in another country, Hungary, with the corrupt strongman Orban at its helm, the one who destroyed that country's elected judiciary and put his handpicked sycophants into their seats.
Well, Trump having privatized the duties of AG Barr, he and Orban are brothers in arms.
7
Since Rudy was born in Budapest this all makes a lot more sense than it does on its face.
I thought that Shokin was the one that Trump referred to in the July 25 call. Why does this article say it was Lutsenko? I'm happy to have your comments. Maybe I missed something.
Why isn't William Barr initiating a formal investigation into the Biden allegations? ...or are the allegations too crazy for him to investigate?
Is Rudy crazy like a fox. ..or just plain crazy?
Stay tuned for the next exciting episode of Trump World.
1
How are they letting him travel out if the country? Is he taking a vacation with Michael Flynn?
5
Trump & GOP are focusing all resources to Russia backed conspiracy theories while back home in America we have trade wars destroying our farmers, we have manufacturing jobs being destroyed, and we have climate change swallowing up whole communities. Trump & GOP are 110% self interested in spending our tax dollars chasing lunatic conspiracy theories while our real life issues are completely overlooked. Time to vote out Trump & GOP. We need serious new leadership, seriously!
8
So Rudy Giuliani is making a reality show in a ridiculous attempt to debunk the impeachment inquiry? Pardon me while I laugh at what a clown show this Republican party has become. I can't believe anyone takes anything these people say seriously.
6
The Docu-series should be named “When the Truth isn’t the Truth” and sub-titled “Alternative Facts”.
7
wow. Surprised Judy's divorce lawyer is not all over having his passport revoked and making the family court judge aware of the likelihood that Rudy is funneling beaucoup bucks off shore from Ukraine a la Manafort (he learns from the best). High risk of flight and high risk of fraudulent asset transfer. Red flags in any divorce case.
5
The New New Math of 2 2=5 is getting old.
2
Yutsenko was the real focus of corruption in Ukraine. A multinational coalition wanted him removed from office. Now Giuliani is using his word to prove supposed corruption by Biden? Further and further into Bizarroworld.
17
I am looking forward to viewing this Ken Burns caliber documentary, my assumption is he will pass on Peter Coyote as the narrator and get Sean Hannity. That style probably means that it won't air on PBS. It seems like a well thought out plan with one omission, I didn't see any mention of Geraldo Rivera doing the tease on Fox for it.
8
Giuliani's trip to Budapest and Kyiv suggests that he is unbowed by the intense scrutiny that has enveloped him and his associates...
Why should he be concerned, he's got a Trump signed pardon in his wallet.
10
Republicans argue we should not impeach, but wait a year or two until all the cases make their way through the courts.
The problem is that Trump and his henchmen are trying to cheat the 2020 election. Waiting a year to impeach means Trump steals another election, like he and his Russian pals did in 2016.
17
Another new low for this Republican administration. What will they do next, impose martial law if Trump is impeached?
12
@Dennis
No, only if he isn't re-elected.
3
Doesn't the State of New York have enough on Rudi to lock him up and throw away the keys? I just can't believe what I am reading these days on the republicans, trump and on and on.
14
@mariamsaunders My guess is that Rudy is hiding the worst of his crimes under the client privilege/executive privilege aegis, so it's hard to make a case when so much of your evidence is "privileged".
2
I really don't understand why they haven't arrested Rudy already. Is he in foreign countries to get away from an arrest?
10
@Vicky Hanneman
Ukraine needs to declare him persona non grata, and commercial airlines need to put him on a no-fly list.
4
Imagine traveling to a foreign nation to create a fake movie about our nation's impeachment hearings.
Oh, wait a minute Giuliani doesn't have to imagine it, he's doing it.
Way to go Rudy, now Trump can say "FAKE MOVIE" as well.
9
The Keystone Kops shenanigans of Giuliani and Trump would be absolutely hilarious, if they weren’t also undermining our system of government and stature in the world.
Giuliani is going to personally create a bunch of evidence of his various shady and illegal schemes involving Ukraine, and in the process is likely to document himself right into a jail cell alongside his buddy Manafort. Knock yourself out, Rudy.
7
Clearly Trump is the Epstein of politics and Rudy and the gang are doing the best they can to hide and distort the real evidence.
9
Ted Bundy thought he was being slick in his interviews to debunk his trial. Look how that turned out.
6
This is classic Trump playbook. When you get punched, punch back harder. When there is a fire, pour more gasoline on it. It's 1984 all over again.
5
Guiliani is under investigation for his Ukrainian adventures. How come he is able to visit his Ukrainian chums and discuss the very thing he is being investigated for? It makes no sense. He could be ensuring that their stories stack up, plotting to twist the narrative; it’s astonishing he has been allowed to leave the USA whilst he’s allegedly at the centre of this crooked scheme.
12
@Lizzie I'm not happy about it, but the only legal limit on his travels/contacts might happen if he's actually indited. Unfortunately, that hasn't happend (yet).
2
Why isn’t Rudy in jail?
Anyone else would already have been arrested.
13
Mr. Giuliani needs a subpoena to explain himself and his actions under oath before a House committee.
He may be the President's lawyer, but while his conversations with Mr. Trump may be somewhat protected by attorney-client privilege, discussion and planning of a crime is never protected.
Mr. Giuliani is not a paid member of the Executive branch of our government nor does his relationship with Trump allow him to speak with foreign leaders as a representative of the United States government.
42
The day Giuliani is perp-walked to jail will only be surpassed when Trump is indicted.
5
Given Mr Giuliani is a person of interest in ongoing investigations, I am surprised he still has a passport. At the very least he should be accompanied by two police when overseas and have all his conversations recorded and published online. This would also help the President's personal lawyer show he is not committing offences such as collusion and witness tampering.
31
@Trev There's no "person of interest" status in the US.
The real reason is that Rudy cannot speak over the phone.
The story grows and matures...this will be a story beyond comprehension historically. There will be indictments a plenty and the legacy of Trump will linger for years.
31
And is he going as a private citizen? Who is funding him?
32
@EAP
The huge campaign war chest Trump has and/or the darkest of dark money. No shortage of billionaire/millionaire right wingers.
10
That is the most important point.
6
@EAP Rudy is making big bucks off the all the antidemocratic governments/movements in Europe. He doesn't need our ruples.
3
Finally, this is utter madness. The GOP is producing a reality TV show to undermine Congressional impeachment proceedings. What have we become? What hath Trump wrought? The Republic is lost.
41
The republic is not yet lost, but action is required. This would-be dictator must not be allowed a second term. Vote with a vengeance!
14
What do you mean "finally"? He's trying to debunk the impeachment.
2
It is interesting how Trump and his team keep turning to components of the former Soviet Union to make the case for why he should be President of the United States.
As for Giuliani - one might guess that he is trying to set new standards for investigation. Except in this case, it would be a case study of "How and What Not To". I suppose Sean Hannity would be the executive producer of this documentary?
18
@Plato More like "how do I make money off of this".
3
I urge Mr. Giuliani to return to the US, and when there agree to meet with the House Judiciary Committee.
All person who can shed light on this investigation should not hesitate to cooperate with the House, including but not limited to Joe Biden's son, Mr. Giuliani, John Bolton.
3
why should the Bidens know anything about Trump asking a foreign government to investigate his political rival? Why should they know anything anout Guilianni and Parnas and Fruman running a shadow foreign policy for Trump?
8
Everyone should be looking for links between Zelensky, the Ukrainian prosecutors, and Russia, their neighbor and still in many respects, their friend. Zelensky recently told of his desire to have a private meeting with Putin. Is it the relay after the delay to obscure a link? There was the Trump Moscow Tower negotiations before the election in which Trump's people negotiated with the ethnic Russian Ukrainian mayor of a city next to the Russian border. There was also the Manafort deeds there including his acquaintance with Russian State Television. Let's face it; everyone is sitting back waiting for the government to discover the truth, but let's remember who the government is run by. This is why I am here reading. I depend on you for the truth. So far so good. Look for links to Moscow.
6
I’m just amazed that all these old people have so much energy to do these stuff. I hope I have half the energy these guys have when I turn 70.
13
@Purota Master Money is a big motivator (especially when you fly first class).
3
Rudy must have thought that his invisibility cloak was going to protect him from prying eyes on his way to Ukraine.
He must also think that Trump's "absolute immunity" (which does not exist) protects him from investigation, but as a private citizen he has no immunity of any kind (but he is free to plead the 5th any time he wants to).
Rudy must be sick, or out of his mind, or something, but he is not fooling anybody.
Maybe he thinks Donnie is going to pardon him.
He and his principal client are both going to be spending a lot of time defending themselves, and I bet they will not do so successfully.
17
Everyday the right wing media espouses these conspiracies and disinformation campaigns. Why not make a movie out of it? After all, it is 1984.
12
Why should I care whether or not he travels to Europe? My concern is that he may come back.
9
A documentary series that relies on "alternative" facts?? Those are called propaganda films. Rudy really goes the extra mile for his star client, doesn't he?
This won't end well.
16
I do believe the answers to many questions lie in the tapes of phone conversations between Putin and Trump, the ones that Putin publicly warned the United States not to allow anyone to hear. The more I learn about Giuliani, Trump and all their Russian-allied Ukrainian friends the clearer it becomes that "all roads lead to Putin" with them. Moreover, with every act of this President and his friends, such as these "documentaries" testifying to Russian planted conspiracy theories about Ukraine, I feel compelled to ask, "Why are they doing Putin's work for him?"
Sincerely, Jennifer Justice
16
Rudy is the cause of his client being impeached. He should have thought about protecting his client long ago.
4
Will Rudy come back from Eastern Europe ?
Russia has no extradition treaty with the USA.
Look at Snowden.
8
"The Apprentice: Ukraine" is now in production. I hope the prize is worth winning.
5
Making a documentary? More like making himself scarce.
5
If Barr were a real Attorney General, and not the so-called president's personal attorney, Rudy would be under indictment for sedition by this point in time.
21
"Giuliani, Facing Scrutiny, Travels to Europe to Interview Ukrainians
President Trump’s personal lawyer has been in Budapest and Kyiv this week to talk with former Ukrainian prosecutors for a documentary series intended to debunk the impeachment case."
Setting aside Donald Trump's past behavior ...
Have he and his lawyer never heard the word "optics"?
Because, presumably, no one other than Donald Trump fans and Fox News people can possibly think that this looks good.
8
@Karen Lee They don't care. Just like Trump's "transcript" of the Ukraine call, they've decided that they can commit crimes (let alone poor "optics") with impunity and without any consequences. Poor optics assumes some level of shame and concern.
4
He is trying to earn a pardon from Trump, no?
7
I can't believe he's still allowed a passport.
13
Rudy still hopes to destroy Biden, who is obviously leading V Trump in the oppo research that the Trump gang is carrying out. There can be no other reason for this. To claim that they are investigating Biden's kid because "he was unqualified except for his family name", well, I am laughing myself silly on that one - almost every famous or rich family has unqualified members sitting on their "Board" or Family Office management team. Go investigate that, Rudy
7
Rudy’s son works in the White House?
Wait, wait, wait. So Giuliani is colluding with corrupt foreign agents to attempt to interfere with the U.S. election? Isn't this what the impeachment proceedings are all about? Am I missing something?
20
@Karl V. They're doing it in plain sight, assuming there will be no consequences.
5
Kate McKinnon on SNL is going to have a great time with this one Saturday night! This skit practically writes itself.
10
Whose money is financing this project? I guess taxpayers can quit paying for our FBI, CIA, military intelligence and national security intelligence staffs. Rudy's doing it all for free! Who said Republicans don't like "free stuff"?
7
I guess we should be grateful the subversion is being carried out in plain sight.
8
Would love to know who is funding this.
8
The million dollar question!
4
Boy, they really do 'double and triple down,' don't they?
"You say I've committed a crime? Hey, I'll show you CRIME!"
They have watched and learned well from their crooked master.
This is a nightmare in real time.
I thought I'd seen it all, truly, after 2001 and the aftermath -- but this is another dimension.
Sickening.
~ 9/11 family member
14
These three "officials" recruited to bolster the disinformation campaign conducted by Mr. Giuliani must be experts on corruption because they have immersed themselves in it.
Andrii V. Artemenko, formerly a member of the Ukrainian national parliament, met with Trump representatives in January 2017 to advance proposals from the Kremlin to ease sanctions against Russia. He later was stripped of his Ukrainian citizenship and charged with treason.
Andrii Telizhenko, formerly a low-ranking employee at the Ukrainian embassy in Washington, has been called "a liar" by the former ambassador for claims made to right-wing conspiracy sites alleging wrongdoing by the Democratic National Committee.
Mykhaylo Okhendovsky, appointed to Ukraine’s Central Election Commission just months before the 2004 presidential election, was part of the attempt to validate brazenly manipulated results in favor of the candidate from his pro-Moscow political party. The national court threw out the result and ordered a closely monitored run-off, which the Moscow-backed candidate lost. In the 2010 election, despite significant irregularities, Okhendovsky and the committee successfully validated victory of that same candidate ... whose campaign was led by the party's newly hired consultant, Paul Manafort.
9
How is this legal?
13
It’s legal if Giuliani is acting as a private citizen. But given his corruption, I doubt that he isn’t acting under orders from the president. Which would be very wrong, not that Trump supporters would care.
3
@Ben Giuliani toggles between quasi-governmental rep and private attorney. He needs to choose one role.
2
To what degree are the Prosecutors and Zelensky Russian loyalists as many Ukrainians are still?
2
"What's the solution to impeachable corruption? I know! More impeachable corruption."
Seriously, who let this man out of the country again? Rudy Giuliani is definitely a flight risk. His passport should be long gone. I can only assume the CIA is using him to track down criminals abroad. He already implicated all the crooks here.
6
Rudy off to make a film. Will this outshine the "Apprentice"? These folks must have their brains packed in dry ice, if they have any.
5
@Heysus
These folks have their brains packed in dry ice because half this citizenry has same: those who look at what Rudy, Pompeo, Mulvaney and the Three Amigos are/were doing, see nothing wrong with it, encourage it and gladly hasten the death of democracy. Trump's followers love the underhandedness as does the Dear Leader himself - to them, it is how you succeed in life.
2
@Heysus
Dry ice, or brains?
1
And who are these Ukranians and how much is the Trump campaign paying them? These people dont work for free to be involved with creeps like Guiliani and Trump.
7
This news story writes the entire script for SNL this weekend!
8
Remember Michael Moore’s Movie about GWB?
The only ones who watched it agreed with its premise and did not support GWB.
It changed nothing (but was pretty good).
Guliani can create all the propaganda he wants for the low information base, already drunk on disinformation from Fox “news”.
It won’t change a thing.
And, unlike Micheal Moore’s movies, it will be all lies
That’s what he does
7
Sorry, this man is just barking mad if he thinks anyone will fall for this - excepting the 40% of American white men with no more than high school education who are Trump's base. If he does this just to please them, then he's right on the money. Anyone else? Unlikely. I would venture HIGHLY unlikely. Just a hunch...
4
He's no doubt hoping for an Oscar in the documentary category. Go for it, Rudy. Get all the crooks and corruption on record.
5
Seize the moment Rudy. You go Guy! Don't let fear and common sense stand in your way! It hasn't up until now.
9
If the Ukranian President was really smart he would
revoke Giulani's visa and not let the man back in. After all, he's a private citizen not someone working for the US in an official capacity.
9
@Samgil
Yes Yes Yes. Please tweet this to President Zelensky. It is an out the poor guy needs.
1
Oh yes he’s out of the country just like Barr was out of the country when he was accused of being a party favor boy. This is one for the ages, a president, attorney general, Vice President, and too many senators in on the take. Do you see this as a churning country taking on anyone calling shots being the beacon on the hill, NOT and is it ever the democrats that cause this. I mean we are at rock bottom people, wake up.
10
How is it accurate to call this production a ''documentary''? Isn't a documentary based on facts... documented facts?!
9
@Niamh Come on! They'll be documented "alternative" facts.
2
Maybe he should stay in Europe and try to avoid extradition.
6
This is campaign finance violation disguised as freedom of speech/ movie making. Go to jail Rudy.
10
Just can’t make this stuff up, they are truly residing in an alternative universe.
9
I have the feeling Giuliani is watching the bus coming his way and is getting his ducks in a row for the great escape. Hopefully wherever he ends up looking for asylum will not send him to Mexico to wait for an appointment.
5
@Rosie I'm actually not sure that he's that aware. I think he sees this as his "big moment" and is willing to "shoot the moon" for a chance at adulation.
1
Isn't Giuliani's action here a classic example of witness tampering??? Traveling to Budapest December 3 during the Impeachment proceedings!
8
Flight Risk...
6
Boris and Natasha have nothing on the G-man. We’ve truly surrendered Frostbite Falls for Pottsylvania.
5
I honestly had to read the lead paragraph in slow motion. I could not believe what I was reading. This is laughable. Can't wait to see Rudy indicted too!
6
14 little o' words that will live in eternity:
“I am not part of whatever drug deal Sondland and Mulvaney are cooking up,”
Why John Bolton didn't add THE ringmaster himself's name (hint; Rudy Giuliani) to that statement is beyond me.
Because Rudy is definitely the dealer in this affair. With of course the head of the cartel safely waiting at home in DC. We all know who that is.
7
Incredible. After all this, they continue to commit the crime in real time. Oh by the way, bully barr's own prosecutor TODAY says that Ukraine stuff is all delusion. They need to be stopped.
11
Madness. Just madness. It will only get worse when the Senate lets Trump off the hook.
5
I hear there is another documentary being worked on .. “What happened to Rudy?”
14
I hope that not one penny of my taxes is supporting Giuliani’s ridiculous trip.
37
@Alex B. Gee, you mean you don't believe he's one of America's leading experts on things Hungarian ?
9
@Alex B. Actually, probably not. His "consulting" firm is picking up contracts with many of the antidemocratic entities in Europe, so he doesn't need our pennies.
2
All of Trump's so called "witnesses" do not have the morals of a gnat. Why should anyone believe what they say "under oath?" They would steal your disabled child's ventilator and lie about it if they thought it would put another nickle in their pockets. Will we find out later that all or part of Giuliani's trip was financed by tax payer dollars?
16
Not a good look.
7
Rudy is just digging the hole deeper for trump than he is helping him. When does trump start the "I don't really know him. We've met a few times & I have a photo with him but I have photos with lots of people." Rudy is working for other people not just me... so I can't say what he has been doing."
16
@Nostradamus I doubt your first point would fly (he is Trump's "personal lawyer"), but I think your second point is exactly what they'll do. Since he's actually been continuously soliciting contracts from Ukrainians (and other countries), that may a tough nut to crack.
1
No way am I going to be able to keep track of all these Russian names.
7
@John Doe That's what they're saying about Ewe, John.
2
Perfect time for Giuliani to have some detailed teleconferences with his white collar crime defense team to discuss whether or not he should ever return to the US. Do we have an extradition treaty with the Ukraine?
10
@Richard Katz
Trump will threaten to withhold more of our money if they honor extradition.
4
Who is paying for this traveling sideshow? America's Snake Oil Salesman should have been detained at the airport and had his passport seized like his pals Lev and Igor.
20
1) We can all agree that it is regrettable that Hunter Biden got involved with Burisma. However. Joe Biden is not responsible for the actions of his adult son, and the allegations of corruption with regard to Burisma are unfounded.
2) No matter how many times Republicans repeat their lies, and how many Republicans repeat them, they are still lies. Despite what Goebbels supposedly said.
3) Shooting the messengers--Adam Schiff, the whistle-blower, etc.--only lays bare the lack of validity of the arguments that Republicans make. Just as a lie is always a lie, what's true is true, no matter the source.
4) The suggestion that Rudy Giuliani find another profession seems great, at first blush. The problem is that no other profession would admit him--at least, none that has any ethics requirements for practitioners. What if he just took a page from General MacArthur's book, and faded away? We should only be so lucky....
14
How is this not doubling down on the crime(s) already committed?
Have you no sense of decency?!?
13
Who is paying Rudy? Since when does Pro Bono apply to helping rich people.
6
@Keevin "Pro bono" means no fee, regardless of the financial status of the client.
But you already knew that, didn't you?
Giuliani is relying on Shokin, a disgruntled ex-employee" of Ukraine for his smear on Joe Biden.
The facts are clear: Joe Biden acted for the United States of America, not himself, when he demanded that Shokin, a corrupt hold-over from the ultra-corrupt, Russian sympathizing Yanukovych adminstration be fired as a condition for $1 billion in US aid.
9
Nauseating - it really is all a TV show to them isn’t it. Entertaining ourselves to death indeed.
7
I’m waiting to hear Trump say he didn’t really know Rudy and that he was just the coffee boy.
12
OMG! Rudy “Habitual Feet Shooter” Giuliani, the gift to Democrats and federal prosecutors that keeps on giving. Who’s paying for this preposterous junket and what’s his personal take? I think, like Manafort, that he might be facing serious financial problems to take the risks involved here.
6
Who is paying for these trips???
8
Just plain sad and shameless behavior.
4
I wonder at what point Giuliani is going to flee prosecution. We may need to extradite him from Ukraine
6
Giuliani is putting his life in danger just to prove that Trump is clean? Is he crazy?
Of course, it's the perfect cover. Subsequently, he's declared "Mentally incompetent to testify before Congress, or a court." thereby avoiding telling the truth about his involvement in a conspiracy involving Trump and his band of thieves.
4
Another Fox Fantasy, just in time for the election. But people will fall for it.
5
What's next? OAN sells the "documentary" to Sinclair and this ends up in every TV market across the country? I am wondering why Giuliani, who is under investigation, is allowed to leave the country., as a possible flight risk. Let alone creating a "documentary" that is full of lies, libel and slander?
Trump, his enablers, the GOP, the Evangelical Christians, GOP House and Senate members continue to show their desperation. But, instead of digging them out of a hole, they continue to dig down deeper.
I have no idea what historians will write about this period in American history, but it will either be the death of conservatism or the death of democratic principles.
Each day it seems the US is slowly morphing into Panem; portrayed in the "Hunger Games".
Finally, how did New Yorker elect this guy as mayor, when they did? He is nowa candidate for the Bellevue Psycho Ward, not Gracie Mansion.
6
@Nick Metrowsky I agree with everything you said, but was taken aback by your ending. I'm not sure where this came from. I lived in Bill D's district, and he was a good councilman. He was elected as a progressive at a time when the future of the city seemed to be in the balance. As a Mayor, I think he's made some good changes and some bad decisions. Running for president was absurd. Is there something specific behind your comment?
Where is the SDNY?
3
Having already dug himself into a deep, deep hole, Rudi Giuliani can't resist the impulse to dig deeper. The man just doesn't know when to abandon a cause already lost.
Giuliani is creating propaganda "documentaries" which have no legal standing but will contribute to the misinformation already in the public domain. Josef Goebbels couldn't have done it any better (or worse, depending on your point of view.)
3
Why does this bozo acting as "the president's lawyer"--while facing charges for representing foreign "business" interests without registering as a lobbyist--still flying around doing Trump's dirty work? For that matter, why does he still have a passport? Giuliani's antics play like a script for a cheesy version of a Martin Scorsese mob movie.
5
What is the Russian word for documentary? Or more specifically the Russian term for a Fake Documentary that attacks what the GOP wants to call fake news? Maybe we can adopt the term "GOPlinka" or something like that....
2
Are we paying for this trip?
3
Ukraine's mayor.
Giuliani is the kind of person who has skeletons in his closet - and they're ashamed to live in his house.
5
Trump has created a shadow administration to rule over us in all ways. His personal lawyer acts as a roving ambassador. His son-in-law is our unsworn secretary of state. His daughter is taking care of business with other nations. Most of his cabinet has not been interviewed by the Senate and confirmed as acceptable. He ignores nation security clearances for his advisors.
Trump spends much of his Tweet time shouting fake news at every turn, and praising criminals and miscreants to garner their undying support. He talks for hours with Hannity and other Fox news hosts whispering dog whistles to the radical right as if they were his people.
In history, I have read of these kinds of actions. The Bolsheviks called it a revolution. The Nazi's called it a putsch. In either case, the legitimate government was overthrown by subversive elements within its own ranks, and nations were destroyed.
13
He's desperate.
3
Knowing he faces indictment, it is shocking he was let out of the Country. He's desperately trying to get them to dig up dirt on the Biden's so he can claim he was right. He wouldn't be there if he had something. It will be shocking if he can find anyone wanting to speak to him, he's like Kryptonite.
6
Giuliani is an ignominious grifter with no interest other than self-enrichment and self-aggrandizement. His saliva-infused rants and bluster make of him the universal image of the king's fool, doing his bidding at lying at every turn. Now, the "documentary" will be a Fox production, with all the lies, opinion, paucity of facts and generalized distortion that characterizes anything associated with that purveyor of hate.
8
He is, and always has been, a despicable character, a traitor, and a modern day gangster. What a sad spectacle he has made of himself.
3
The coming-soon Rudy Ukraine "documentary" already:
1. Sounds like a Witch Hunt
2. Smells like a hoax
3. Looks like perfect "fake news"
What could it be named: "own goal", "diaries of the deluded", "when I look into my mirror" or "dumb, dumber and dishonest"?
6
Mr Turley should limit his comments to legal issues and leave the choice of timing to the Judiciary Committee.
4
So 007 ( or is it Maxwell Smart ?) has been dispatched to sleuth out the truth in the Ukraine. Unfortunately, neither he nor his presidential client can handle the truth. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Distractions, alternative realities, and blatant lies are all fueling the presidential defense and seem to be in the Kool Aid served in the Senate cafeteria. Agent Giuliani is quite an operative, but he is more suited to KAOS than to the CIA. It’s time for the adults to take over and for those playing cover - up to pack up their trench coats, go home, and face the music. Secret agent man, indeed!
5
Will he come back?
A dacha in the woods for retirement?
4
Two things:
1) Merriam-Webster defines a documentary as something factual and objective. So this project is obviously not a documentary. Please put quotation marks around the word “documentary” as it relates to this project. To not do that is careless reporting.
2) Please follow the money - who is paying for this “documentary”? To not at least document the attempts to find that out seems like carelessly incomplete reporting.
5
The "dirt" that Rudy Giuliani has concocted is in the possession of Congress by means of the dossier compiled by State Dept. IG Linick. If it has any credibility then OAN will become an overnight sensation. That not even Fox will touch it would suggest otherwise. As would the blatant attempt to extort Ukraine's president to take ownership of it.
3
My , how Rudy has fallen . He must be in hog heaven in the Ukraine trying to bring back his glory days as a prosecutor ; kevetching with the other somewhat unclean and discredited prosecutor . Who would have thought ? His documentary will probably be worthy of a Dinesh D'Souza fabricantary mockumentary .
5
Someone please put a stake through the heart of this vampire!
6
I am surprised he is allowed to flee the country.
5
Did Pompeo know that one of his ambassadors was meeting with Giuliani?
3
Sounds like another bad trump order for Giuliani.
2
Obviously Rudy is not concerned about how this would appear to the US Justice Department. I’m thinking of a word...begins with a “p” and ends with an “n”...can you guess the word I’m thinking of?
1
Why is Giuliani even involved in our country's affairs? He is the "personal lawyer" to that thing in the White House. What am I missing here?
7
So Rudy wants to dig up / fabricate more dirt on his original dirt; the dirt he may go to jail over.
Sure I’ll believe what he comes up with. That lump on my head is from falling off the turnip truck.
3
Interviewing Ukrainians? You meant scrambling to get their cover up on the same page, right?
2
Hey SDNY, isn't it about time this guy's passport is confiscated?
5
Quick! Make a movie! Ok Ukrainian prosecutor, here is your script. Try with a little more emotion this time. Can we get a professional Ukrainian actor? Someone more convincing? How about an action scene? A car chase maybe? What would get Trump supporters out to see this? Maybe nascar and pro wrestlers? They love pro wrestlers...
5
Headline should be Former mayor, now one brick short of full load, travels to Europe to build stonewall.
5
The OJ defense- he’s looking for the perpetrators
4
Doesn't this guy know when to lay low? He's like O.J. in that he just can't keep from looking for trouble.
4
Rudy sure doesn't know when to stop digging.
4
C’mon Rudy; enough already. Your reputation is forever tarnished - continuing to grovel and do your ‘Dear Leader’s’ bidding will not restore it. You cannot undo the initial meetings in Ukraine that you and your puppet master concocted. Looking for or fabricating evidence to support your ill-fated excursions will not bolster neither his case nor your reputation. Instead of running the series on OANN – known for its pro-Trump content, promotion of conspiracy theories and criticisms of the mainstream media - why don’t you offer the series to a legitimate, unbiased news network, and if this is stellar and unbiased journalism, see if they have any interest in airing it.
4
The idiocy only gets more idiotic. VOTE!
5
Oh Rudy!
Well, anyone who implicates himself so regularly is always good for a laugh. Maybe he will butt call another reporter or, even better, flash another fist full of debunked conspiracy theories.
Run Rudolf, run!
3
You cannot get a better sketch for SNL than this with Giuliani.
5
Will Nunes be joining him?
6
Rudi the Guli is practicing the classic Trump strategy: Double-Down. He's the Roy Cohn of this administration. Some people will do anything for money.
3
Who is paying for this trip over seas?
3
America is a hot mess!
2
Rudy Giuliani is very likely going to prison.
2
Chutzpah
1
I guess Rudy is unfamiliar with the phrase, "when you're in a hole, stop digging." Trump's handlers in Russia must be loving this.
3
Maybe the NYT shouldn’t have published a front-page article a few months ago promoting Giuliani’s Ukraine conspiracy theories. Just a thought!
1
While at it, Giuliani should fly to Moscow and interview Putin to get "evidence" from the horse's mouth.
5
America’s idiot mayor - keep him from ever retiring to the States!
3
I would very much like to know who is footing the bill for these trips, whom and what account is he expensing these to and if he's keeping time slips like most attorneys do. He can redact out the attorney/client descriptions on the slips, but I'd would think the investigating committees would like to know who's paying and how much. Because if the gov. is paying for this, that's another ethical problem. I wonder how many income streams his fees and expenses are coming from.
2
The first rule of scrutiny in the adult world of social bullying: The most unlikable will bear the most scrutiny ... this comes across much better in Greek
4
Documentary my foot. Rudy is there to either help disappear incriminating evidence which has yet to come to light, or shore up the "insurance" he claims to have over his boss. Possibly both. All we know for sure, is that the sheer amount of money that must be a stake here is staggering. No rational person would behave this way. Rudy should have his passport seized immediately upon return and his license to practice law should be reviewed without delay. Assuming he comes back, of course.
32
At every criminal trial, the defense must decide whether or not to call the defendant. And the defendant is never called unless it is deemed necessary. Giuliani has decided it’s necessary. So he’s mustering a defense. Great news for the government. Giuliani is sweating bullets.
6
Forgive me if this question has already been asked: Since the Republicans held both houses of Congress from 2016-2018 and since these issues were known then, why wasn't there a formal request from our Department of Justice to the Ukrainian counterpart to investigate? If this issue is truly of national importance and there are facts, there should have been then and should be now no reluctance on the part of our DOJ to go through formal channels. Now, we've got Giuliani - a private citizen - running around the world investigating? Can he bring formal charges? No. What's the legal end game? Trump supporters, please respond.
20
@Old Liberal When they had both houses during that same period, they could've funded the wall too.
2
The skullduggery continues and our Congress and intelligence agencies seem powerless to stop it. Every day, I think I was worried before. And every day, I get even more worried.
16
With this action Giuliani is manipulating foreign officials (past and/or present) to interfere in our democratic process imho. How much more obvious does it have to be? Is there no entity within our government willing to stop him or at the very least hold him accountable?
14
At this point, Giuliani has to keep returning to Ukraine until he finds some evidence that may help him when he is indicted for fraud and acting as an unregistered foreign agent. Either the evidence will be exculpatory in some way, which is unlikely, or he is merely showing fealty to Trump in the expectation of a pardon once he is tried and convicted.
3
Been involved in countless cases like this. They're chess matches. The government compiles its case. The defense follows every move. And there's no presentation of a defense unless the government stirs up fear. Giuliani is mustering a defense because he's afraid. We've gotten to him. And charges haven't even brought yet. This almost never happens. The heat is on. And Giuliani is cracking. Take it from an experienced observer. Giuliani isn't sleeping well at night. And that's great news for truth, justice, and the American way.
8
I reach for the paper every day and see a fantastic fantasy story about unimaginable crimes, fanciful creatures body-snatching our government, impossible underworld feats and a laughable but dangerous leader in an apocalyptic inverse world casting a spell in a planet. It's a good read, but when I snap out of it the sense of dread returns, people in DC suits performing this without accountability. One learns in school the framers thought of everything, these days not sure they imagined the unimaginable.
7
I don't think we fully appreciate the long-game Giuliani is planning for Trump.
The House will impeach, the Senate will not, Trump will announce far and wide that he has been exonerated, vindicated, that the Dems threw their best shot but that their attempted coup failed because they are looooosers!
When these "documentary" episodes are offered as the "real story" the Dems will respond but-but-but NONE OF IT IS TRUE, Giuliani et.al will reply that the failed impeachment is proof that all the whistleblowing, all the
evidence, and all the testimony was nothing but orchestrated lies.
That Giuliani is participating in this documentary effort instead of lying low is not a head-scratcher at all, it's the GOP endgame.
6
Reading about this latest activity on the part of the president's personal lawyer, I just have a visceral feeling that we're all being duped by the activities of Mr. Guiliani and Mr. Trump.
What a heist! Here we are learning about the backdoor efforts of Mr. Guiliani to round up a bunch of former prosecutors who've been suspected of deep corruption in Ukraine and who are now key performers in a documentary that aims to counterbalance the impeachment proceedings and to exonerate the president of any wrong-doing.
This is scary because those who blindly subscribe to this type of propaganda believe it to be the truth about their president, and that the democratic process being followed with the impeachment inquiry is not to be believed as legitimate.
Sure, Guiliani's efforts are all out in the open--but are these "witnesses" credible when we have a billionaire president who could be paying enormous sums to get these people to appear in a documentary and back up Trump's story about everything from the Bidens to his efforts to uncover a "corrupt Ukraine".
What's going on behind the scenes with this effort on Guiliani's part for the president of the United States? It just smacks of too much "mob-like" activity--lots of money and power globe-trotting in seeking to protect their big-shot "patron"--somehow it all seems like a cheap B-movie that is way beneath the dignity of the office of the president and the people of this country.
10
It's unfathomable that Giuliani and the Trump cabal continue to affront Ukraine. President Zelenskyy is a political newcomer doing his best to fight both a war with Russia and corruption that flourished under his predecessors. What is the penalty for such disservice to an ally?
9
Two things are obvious from this fiasco.
1) Trump thinks only of himself that’s why he pushed for the investigation.
2) The activities of the Bidens needs to be investigated.
@John Schwab - What activities? A private citizen held a job at a privately held company. It had no impact whatsoever on anyone.
3
Sadly, Rudy appears free to operate as freely and illegally as he pleases. His relationship with current POTUS renders him essentially immune from eventual penalty - a pardon is guaranteed.
10
And THIS is exactly why Trump has to go. There is just NO END to this. No boundaries. No ethics. No morals. No values.
20
Hubris:
Excessive pride or self-confidence.
In Greek tragedy: excessive pride toward or defiance of the gods, leading to nemesis.
2
Interesting that Rudy met with disgraced former Prosecutor General Lutsenko in safe house in Budapest. I guess it might have been too dangerous to do the meeting in Kyiv since Lutsenko is under investigation by NABU for abuse of power.
That raises a question, however: if Rudy is in Kyiv today, shouldn't NABU be questioning him as a material witness in the Lutsenko investigation?
Asking for a friend...
6
Why isn't rudy testifying before the impeachment committee? Why are all the president's men hiding? Why haven't one republican legislator question the potus refusing to allow any members of his administration or cabinet to testify. Yet they constantly call the impeachment hearing "kangaroo court and unfair". The republicans complain that"Hunter Biden" who wasn't on the president's phone call or in the room at the times of trump's calls and conversations regarding Ukraine should be called to testify. But the members of the trump's cabinet and administration who were involved in the call, shouldn't be called to testify accordingly to the republican legislators SILENCE. Republicans seem to have very little faith in their constituents intelligence if they think all their constituents will believe their childish and nonsensical theatrics regarding the unfairness of the impeachment proceedings. If the call was perfect, than let those in on the call be called to testify!
9
Let's not forget. If anything illegal had happened in the Ukraine contacts, there's a proper procedure for addressing it.
That procedure involves the Justice Department, not Trump's personal attorney.
This is the same sort of smoke that the Republicans emitted surrounding Clinton's emails. If there was actually any wrongdoing, the Trump Justice Department could prosecute.
That didn't happen for two reasons. One is that nothing illegal occurred. And the other is that they don't want their base to know that.
This time, they're going ahead with smearing Biden when, in fact, if he'd done anything illegal they could prosecute it.
Burisma had board members on both sides of the political aisle. There has been very little coverage of Joseph Cofer Black, a Bush counterterrorism official, who was also on the Burisma board. Google it. So, sure, they were trying to curry political favor. Hunter Biden should have turned this down, but, hey, it was a lot of money.
If he had, there is no doubt that the Republicans would have sound some other tidbit to smear Biden. Remember the kerfuffle about Obama working in his own office without his suit coat? How about the coffee cup salute? The people who were upset by that can't seem to find anything objectionable about Trump.
9
I guess Giuliani is also trying to undermine our nation by asking a foreign nation to help.
For months I've been convinced that Ukrainians, being very close to Russia still, are go betweens to Putin.
1
Wow.
Look at how so very hard Rs are working to make sure that Americans don't have affordable and quality health insurance and health care; a robust system of public education; well-funded medical and scientific research; clean air and water; wages indexed to inflation; a just system of law. Rs just want their very own status quo: legislating capitalist markets on behalf of their 1% donors and then themselves once they leave office and return to the private sector. Free market for thee but not for me. Private profit, social debt. Sneering and scorning average Americans for not having enough of their own money while demanding subsidies. There is no worse frenzied parasite in this country than the smug and self-entitled 1%, who wouldn't know real work if it walked up and said "tax cut."
And that's why they rally around Don. Because no good deed by the Ds on behalf of the American people is to go unpunished.
6
I do not believe Giuliani has gone to Ukraine to gather support for a documentary. It is my thought that he has gone to meet with Lutsenko and the others as an emissary of HIS DONALD, probably offering some kind of enticement for their continued support, or a threat that if they do not continue to be supportive X will happen. Bribery didn’t work out well the first round in Ukraine. Trump and his lawyer are doubling down.
2
If you’re not guilty, why go thru making a documentary to prove you’re innocent??! Or a lack of trust in the judicial system, because he tries to manipulate it.
4
Maybe we should just let the Trump administration run amok and abuse the power of the executive branch with impunity.
Then when the Democrats are in the White House they will have a chance to do the same thing? Kind of like if you can’t beat them join them?
But it wouldn’t work because Democratic lawmakers would hold a Democratic president accountable.
4
If this administration was so concerned about perceived corruption in a country why would they solicit "favors" from someone who may be corrupt if for no other reason than to circumvent domestic law to utilize illicit exertion?
4
I really appreciate the bizarre humor of Americans take the word of corrupt Ukrainians.
From my Mid-western Fifties and Sixties Catholic education:
"Every sentence coming out of the Soviet Bloc is a lie with intent."
My stomach turns when I think about what the Russians have done to us.
As Lenin was purported to have said, We'll hang the last capitalist with the rope they sold us.
Sad.
2
It might not be a bad idea for a few congressional "tough guys" to also make a trip to the Ukraine to investigate just what "persuasive" blandishments Giuliani is offering for favorable testimony. It should not just be a one way street for a former prosecutor with his bag of tricks. Or better yet ask to extradite him for his impersonation of being a representative of the state department.
4
In the face of impeachment, Trump still is spreading lies and deceit for his own personal gain. Giuliani no doubt feels that if charges are filed against him, Trump will protect him and pardon his crimes.
My only hope, is that when all is said and done, Giuliani is sharing a cell with best bud Trump and that the boys have years to work on their special friendship.
8
I am totally speechless! Guiliani has NO moral compass at all. He will get his comeuppance, just wait and see!
5
Nothing like a “Hey, there’s Elvis!” stunt on the day of Impeachment Hearings. The worse things get for Team Trump, they just double down. They only care about raw power, money and Putin (the wealthiest man in the world). This is becoming treasonous and Team Trump is breaking all mechanisms designed to stop it.
7
opening himself up to being called.....investigations are not privileged when "documentary".....and this [the "product" of this desperate venture] will arguably "waive" any prior privilege.....
the guy is in the soup - of his own cooking.
2
Oh, as if being "sworn in" in this manner in a foreign country holds any weight.
Of course it will to the base, who will truly lap it all up.
Laughable.
3
So it has come to this: Rudy Giuliani’s reality television rebuttal to Articles of Impeachment will be offered up in defense of his thoroughly, flagrantly corrupt master, our first reality television “President.”
I’ve got to think the drafters of the Constitution are writhing in pain in their graves.
5
A documentary is usually a format to highlight unknown truths. Only in the Trump era could we have one to perpetuate a lie. Call it what it is, propaganda.
8
Having Giuliani interview Ukrainians to hopefully debunk the Trump impeachment case is comparable to a pyromaniac volunteering to go into a burning building to help extinguish the raging fire.
6
Rudy is a serial offender. Can’t we just indict him already? Take his passport? That will stop him from leaving the country — although, like Stone and Trump’s band of common criminals, probably won’t stop his meddling.
9
@Andy
Propaganda designed to flood Fox and beyond, to saturate the brains of the base.
3
Don't forget that the audience for this propaganda "documentary" believes that the world is 6000 years old, Donald Trump was sent by God, and dinosaurs were killed in "the flood" (too big to fit in the boat.) We are in trouble folks, big time.
13
When you've already been caught in the middle of a crime, the smart thing would be to stop committing more. I'm not sure if it's arrogance, ignorance, or natural criminal impulses (perhaps a combination of these and other things) which causes Trump, Giuliani, and those around them to double, triple, and quadruple-down on their malfeasance. Regardless, these individuals are not in any way above the law. Their comeuppance is overdue and well deserved. I hope the law hits them like a ton of bricks.
5
If corruption is a concern for Trumpists, why don't they care about the well-known Russian corruption campaign?
6
Trump is being impeached for enlisting the help of Ukraine to get dirt, now he's trying to enlist Ukraine to get dirt again on the impeachment?? How does this make any sense?
7
Is Rudy trying really hard to be indicted by the very court he once reigned and was considered a hero?
3
How much cash did Rudy take along with him for all the bribes? Did customs officials search his belongings as they would yours or mine?
6
Who is paying Mr. Guliani or at least reimbursing him for all this expense? Knowing that explains this insanity.
7
How interesting it is that Giuliani and his Ukrainian thugs are able to operate in a country without being arrested simply because the newly elected Zelensky government is upholding the democratic ideals of freedom of the press? Ironically, it is because the Ukrainian people overwhelmingly elected Zelensky to govern according to democratic ideals that now allows Giuliani to continue to sow more lies and deceit.
5
David B. Cornstein (born August 17, 1938) is an American businessman and diplomat who is currently serving as United States Ambassador to Hungary. He is from New York and his business background is in running gambling operations
3
This will be packaged and presented as hard hitting investigative journalism a la 60 minutes. Will likely have an impact like the Kerry Swift Boat campaign.
2
What do you do with a party led by Trump that continues to ally with a foreign nation, Russia through Ukraine, while attacking their own people? Indeed they are committing very high crimes.
4
I would love to see Mr. Giuliani picked up for questioning when he lands back in the US.
7
The horse has already left the barn.
2
Will this be the first TV series in which all the witnesses end up in jail?
3
One question: Why has he not been arrested yet? I consider his collusion with foreign powers to sway the elections nothing but treason.
5
I’m all for Rudy doing this! Let the American people see all sides. Why should this be a problem for the Trump haters?
1
Did Mr. Giuliani buy a one-way ticket and bring lots of cash? Fine by us if he stays.
5
Oh, you can run but you cannot hide! You're going down, Mr. Mayor!
4
Is this the equivalent of drawing a hurricane circle around Alabama?
4
Rudy is desperately trying to drum up some kind of a defense.
3
Doubling down on the scheme to get dodgy Ukrainians to endorse Putin’s propaganda. It’s betraying two countries in one documentary.
3
Desperation. It's been fascinating to watch someone with a sterling reputation hurl himself into this TrumpCo swirling morass of psychosis, deceitful manipulation, rank obsession, and juvenile denials. The GOP has gone off the rails, and the ones in Congress have perverted their solemn oath to protect this nation AND its Constitution.
4
He's like Trump: If you won't stop me, why should I stop myself?
6
Somehow I can't shake this nagging feeling that if Rudy Giuliani were living in an earlier age, he would be off interviewing Don Corleone for a documentary on how terribly the media was treating "legitimate" Italian family businesses.
3
Will the SDNY please indict Rudy and a court take his passport and forbid his leaving NY already?
6
I read reports in the NYT that Giuliani was asking for money from people during his earlier exploits in the Ukraine. Who is funding this man? And I guess he is confident that his DONALD will pardon him when he is convicted for crimes committed trying to help the same man retain power.
3
You know what they say. When the law is against you argue the facts. When the facts are against you make things up. How is it that Rudy still has a law license?
4
Every year we get a new Rudy.
This year it's Rudy the Debunker.
That's how his bills get paid.
5
Undeniably we now have state TV, with full blown propaganda.
7
Welcome to the beginning of Republican National Media, a TRUMP organization.
In this day and age _your_ version of reality is all that matters. Facts need not apply.
More info on this piece, Giuliani, here: https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/trumpinc/episodes/trump-inc-ukraine
4
"President Trump’s personal lawyer has been in Budapest and Kyiv this week to talk with former Ukrainian prosecutors for a documentary series intended to debunk the impeachment case."
The GOP's answer to everything: more lies and propaganda.
10
What right has Giuliani to hound an American citizen who has been cleared of wrongdoing in the Ukraine? Is he being reimbursed by Trump the client, or by the White House administration on behalf of Trump?
Joseph R Biden Jr is not running for a political position as an opponent to Trump. If only a cease and desist order against Giuliani could be issued, perhaps his harassment would stop.
Yeah, right.
4
Incredible! How do we go about stopping this criminal?
6
In other words, Giuliani is meeting with corrupt Ukrainians who will help him pad his story that the Biden's were corrupt.
3
Why bother with producing a documentary to "debunk" the impeachment case when you can just testify instead?
682
@Tarek He'd much rather be out of the country, traveling on who-knows-whose dime (you can bet it isn't the "president"),staying in luxury hotels, having sumptuous meals, enjoying all the perks. Besides, if he was in the U.S., he might be either subpoenaed or arrested. THAT would spoil his Christmas!
48
@Tarek If he testifies he'd have to tell the truth. Instead he can keep on lying.
39
@Tarek But if you testify, some difficult questions may be asked. But nobody can talk back to a movie.
23
I guess this should show Giuliani can move on his own with no direction from Trump... but it doesn't change what happened before. Got to wonder what was said in those phone calls.
It also indicates Giuliani's "hundreds of pages of evidence against Biden" must not mean much.
I'm curious what will come from this. I'm fairly sure none of these will testify on Trump's behalf during the Senate trial.
12
What makes you think trump didn't direct or approve this?
4
Well, Rudy is quoted as saying he’s doing it for his client, Trump. FWIW.
3
So, back in only May of this year, Rudy Giuliani cancelled a planned trip to Ukraine after being criticized for doing so. His purpose was to facilitate the initiation of investigations into Hunter Biden and the origins of the Russia investigation, both of which now stand as the lynchpin of the impeachment investigation. It’s no more appropriate now than it was then. But now, his trip to the same country for the same reason doesn’t even move the meter. How far we’ve fallen in such a short time!
44
And the Ukrainians he will interview have all been fired for corruption, truth is not something they will provide. But Rudy is determined to create a narrative, even though it will be completely false to distract, confuse, disrupt, and demolish all facts regarding the Presidents folly.
43
This is huge. I’m a prosecutor and I’m all ears. Giuliani is going to present his defense. Defense attorneys consistently advise targets not to talk. Giuliani is now planning to talk even if through others. True or false, this is huge. He’s locking himself in. A fantastic development. I can’t overstate its importance. Did I mention that this is huge?
83
The idea that Ukraine's interest in the "black ledger" suggests an attempt to discredit Trump's campaign manager is beyond ridiculous. It's up-side-down. Of course Ukraine was interested in the corrupt dealings of Yanukovich and his supporters. The fact that Manafort was documented as being among those who profited from installing a Russian puppet in Ukraine proves how wrong Trump was to hire him, not how "wronged" Trump was by Ukraine or anyone else.
19
Follow the Money. Who pays Rudy and Ukrainian ex-officials to travel around Eastern Europe and meet with OAN.
For that matter, how is OAN financed? Its audience appears to be a tad bit small for a so-called conservative outlet. Far enough to compete with Fox, the voice of conservatism. I occasionally watch OAN and they don't appear to be Burkean conservatives.
Where are the investigative reporters?
12
OAN was founded by a finance guy who is extremely pro-russian
2
Rudy must think it is not bad enough that Trump is in the process of throwing him under the bus, but is holding out for the freight train too.
21
Evidently, Rudy doesn't know when to quit. He ought to be holed up with some high powered lawyers, formulating his defense, instead of back at the scene of the crime trying to wipe off his fingerprints.
52
He wants these people to say something to exonerate Trump.
In exchange for what?
27
Hey Rudy, get a list together of countries that do not have an extradition treaty. From what I understand, Malta gives criminals passports for a fee.
17
This is probably the most disturbing news I've read in months, if not longer. For it suggests that Trump, through is lawyer Giuliani and right-wing supporters, is tripling if not quadrupling down on his defense to the Ukrainian scandal. It's worse than Nixon's machinations to try to weasel out of the Watergate scandal.
It appears that Trump and Giuliani are still in the process of cooking up evidence through the use of corrupt former Ukrainian officials showing Joe Biden pressured them into dropping an investigation into his son and the company on whose board he sat. If there was any truth to the claims against the Bidens, surely Trump's oversized lap-poodle A.G. Barr would be visibly leading that investigation. But instead we have the clearly unstable Giuliani performing that dirty business. For what Barr won't touch, Giuliani laps up happily.
I truly fear that the lengths Trump and his zealous defenders are going to in order to save his presidency and reelection bode ill, very ill, for our nation. Their actions are those of fanatics. Their fanaticism could encourage an even more unstable POTUS to take even more extreme measures to protect his ego from the disgrace of being forced to leave office by impeachment or electorally.
Since we now have an entire political party that marches in disciplined step with a president, it would not be surprising to see them doing so if necessary in goosestep metaphorically speaking. For the GOP seems totally bereft of a conscience.
101
Barr was too busy threatening folks who complain about police brutality with loss of policing services.
2
Any media outlets not part of Trump's propaganda apparatus should refuse to repeat anything Giuliani has to say about Ukraine until he testifies under oath.
43
Willing to put together a TV documentary to exonerate the President but not willing to do the same under oath.
91
Rudy doing a documentary of Ukraine, oh that’s rich. He’s more likely over there trying to find dirt on Biden and helping to clear Russia of 2016 interference.
11
I hear twilight zone music...
19
“If S.D.N.Y. leaks and Democrats’ threats stopped me, then I should find a new profession,”
Like making license plates ...
20
Yet more evidence that the GOP no longer believes in democracy and the rule of law. They now believe in the court of FOX Conspiracy News.
36
My first thought at the title of the article is you got to be kidding. However, I am wrong. He has just arrived in Europe and has already been put down by France, Canada and a few more. They are laughing at the con man who can only speak like he is at a rally. If I'm paying for this I want it stopped immediately. So many layers of lies, false facts, fake news, conspiracies, witch hunts, not producing tax returns and more. Wake up people we have a real nutcase in the Oval Office and his attorney a bigger nut job. I'm waiting for a real Republican to put the "we the people" first not protecting someone who is on a suicide mission. I worry about paying for medications and Trump and Giuliani are using our courts and attorneys at our expense and well as travel, work space, staffing. I'm worried about what other nations think of us for having this man holding the position of (Sorry I can't say it). We all should be very afraid.
39
Now that Parnas and Fruman are out of the picture, who's doing the interpretation?
9
Rudy is channeling his inner 'Roger Stone' . . .
12
That's so rich.
The same yahoos who continually spew spittle and whine about "fake news" are out there proactively producing...wait for it:
fake news.
72
If Guiliani is working pro bono for Trump, as he claims, who is funding his work for Trump?
This stinks.
46
"Americas Mayor" becomes "Americas Joke"
Someone should tell Rudy that when you're in a hole, its best to stop digging !
15
I'm certainly not laughing.
1
Does Rudy think he’s another Mike Wallace?
7
If Trump officially deputized Rudy to talk to Ukrainians and the OMB and State Department and the DOJ....than why doesn't Trump just show us how he did it? He is entitled to do it, and, unfortunately, even entitled to give high level security clearances. But......we got nada. No proof of any level of deputization other than a "memo" of a phone call saying "talk to Rudy" with lots of stuff left out through redactions and ellipses.
Are they really all blooming idiots, or are they such great crooks that they have figured out how to get away with everything?
8
Keep showing us your MO, Rudy!
7
It's like we're sitting patiently at our little desks with hands primly crossed, waiting for permission to make a line so we might consider exiting the building when in the room next door they not only set the room on fire, they've burnt up all the furniture and are considering dropping a bomb to take out the rest. Of course they're making a documentary about the impeachment process that they will show on national television (I mean Fox News) and it could be that Rudy the former prosecutor is "reminding" them about what they remember as well. Who knew the ship could go down this fast?
487
@Cathy
I hope a real documentarian is doing a "making of" of the Rudy and Yuriy Show.
23
@Cathy No. No. No. The documentary is Giuliani's defense. All that smoke is getting to him. And he has decided to scream "fire." He's bringing the authorities to the scene. And they will soon find out how the fire got started. The jig is up! And it looks like that ship may well make it to its destination.
14
@michjas no the documentary is Giuliani and Trump's attempt at distraction from the behavior of Trump. This is simply being done to get the weak minded among us to look at the shiny lil object in Ukraine known as corrupt and discredited politicians. To make people foolishly believe that when Trump wanted a favor from Zelensky to investigate his 2020 election opponent Biden and the opposing DNC party Trump wasn't pursuing his personal interests but that of the country's. Right. And if you believe that I have that bridge in Brooklyn I'd like to sell you for a discount price.
20
I guess since he is under investigation, but not yet any form of indictment.... he still is in posession of his passport and is free to travel.
That said.. I would be money that if need be... Pompeo would order the State Department to issue him a diplomatic passport.
So I guess it is largely moot at this point.
One thing you can bet on though.. he is under surveilance by the FBI during his trip, and possibly other intelligence assets.
21
These are the acts of a desperate man who knows that he will be prosecuted and his only chance is a pardon. When a rat is cornered . . . it will chew through the wall.
61
Giuliani is participating in recruiting foreign influences to obstruct justice by swaying public opinion away from the facts and toward the Right Wing propaganda. He is working toward a coup by securing the media while Trump secures foreign relations and trade. They will not rest until the Great American Experiment becomes Putamerica.
34
This is still all about Trump’s delicate ego being hurt because EVERYONE agreed the Russians had their thumb on the scale in the election. The man who never forgets a real or imaginary slight is determined to prove everybody wrong and that he won because he’s the great President ever. Guiliani is making hay while the sun shines, who knows what deals he’s cooking up. They really know no bounds. Ironically the only people who would believe this “documentary “ already believe Trump. It won’t sway anyone else. So pathetic.
25
The only logical explanation for this partnership between Giuliani and Trump is that each of them has so much dirt on the other that they cannot be surgically separated.
47
@Putinski : Yes, Giuliani's "insurance" comment supports that view. His bizarre explanation that he has a safe full evidence on the Bidens at first glance makes no sense. Obviously, Trump wants any negative information on the Bidens that anyone might have to become public, so Giuliani's claim to use that as insurance against Trump throwing him under the bus is absurd. Given Trump's response and Giuliani's attorney's response, it's clear to me that Giuliani was reminding Trump of evidence that Giuliani has on Trump.
3
If Hunter Biden were Donald Trump Jr., Democrats would be clamoring for an investigation.
3
@William Case : If unicorns existed, then pigs could fly.
9
Donald Trump Jr. is 100 times worse than Hunter Biden, and Democrats don’t care. Why? Because Donald Trump the President is the worse crook in our country’s history. There’s your reason.
17
@William Case - If Hunter Biden was President and he'd done half the things Trump has done then yes Democrats would be quick to investigate and kick him to the curb.
Hunter Biden is a private citizen who has done nothing wrong and who hasn't had the least bit of negative impact on anyone.
Unlike the Trump spawn who are meddling in our government and helping themselves to our tax dollars.
18
Is this even legal or doesn't that matter anymore??
26
Giuliani is going to end up going to jail. How will this baloney help? Will Trump throw Rudy under the bus? If yes, Rudy will sing.
9
If the "Deep State" were really as powerful as the Trumpies think it is, I have to believe that Rudy would be dead by now.
11
Some kids just never learn their lesson.
4
Are we paying for this trip?
17
@Regina : Given Trump's penchant for spending other people's money for his own benefit, I certainly wouldn't count out that possibility.
4
We will.
2
I hope all the Ukrainians and whomever else talking with Giuliani as he lobbies them to lie - I hope that they are all recording the conversations
11
@Bob
Bob, I think at this point they’re all recording each other. And Lordy, I hope there are tapes!
7
Maybe he'll stay there.
12
The guy has become a caricature of himself.
10
This “documentary” is likely going to be entered as “evidence” in the Senate trial.
Rudy role as Shambassador has now expanded to Media Maniac.
16
I bet OAN is linked to Bannon and his band of merry thugs, Jason Miller and Raheem Kassam. A richer cousin of Radio Titan, the host for the band-o-thugs' podcast. As far as Ms. Rion, she's connected to Bobby Courtland, aka, Courtland Sykes, who backed by Bannon, et al., took a run for McCaskill's Missouri seat. Courtland ran into some snags, seems there was a glitch with aliases and a lawsuit.
These guys only know one song, and they'll play it until they can't. Let’s just hope someone turns off the music soon.
11
We elected a game show host to be our President. Is what Guiliani is doing a surprise? About next October our national imbecile will be saying Rudy's doc exonerates him. Trump has sided with Putin over our Justice Department and our law enforcement agencies. He is guilty of treason and deserves the highest punishment.
20
I wonder if he's coming back - or seeking the "insurance" he said he had if Trump decided to "throw him under a bus", which appears to be this weeks riff from the White House.
Giuliani, like Trump's model lawyer, Roy Cohn, has not only defended, but befriended the accused.
And he perhaps made the greatest mistake befriending Trump, who, as the records of pleas and convictions stemming from the Mueller report indicate, is not a very safe thing to do.
Now, what can Rudy find in Ukraine?
Probably what Trump was trying to find - folks willing to do anything to gain a prize.
Trump tried it with the wrong man, attempting to suborn (and in the end, obtain some perjury from) that country's new anti-corruption president - with an effort at, not bribery, as the therm is commonly understood, but extortion.
In that case it was "give me what I want or no approved weapons money" (it is interesting to note, Trump 'gave' Ukraine no anti-tank rockets, but cash, with the understanding they would be used to buy a US product).
Now Ukraine still needs help, and they recognize a dictator-in-the-making in Donald Trump, who has said Congress cannot impeach him ... he's the president and can do anything he wants.
So Rudy will catch up with the former dishonest men who governed the nation, and try to get those simply hoping their nation can survive to lie - and lie, and lie.
Incidentally, when someone says, falsely, a person handed something to the NYT that person is a liar.
Please use the word!
4
Wait a minute...WHO IS PAYING?..who’s paying for Rudy to go careening around the world to obstruct,obscure and protect the crook in the White House. Make a WHAT??? Movie??? Are you kidding? Are the TAXPAYERS going to pick up the tab for this garbage also... we all know the cheap slime bag in the White House will find someone to stick it to. God knows HE won’t pay..
26
@Nursemom Remember his butt-dialed call to a journalist? Bahrain is paying.
5
@Nursemom
There is a good chance that fox is paying since they will probably get a tax deduction for expenses , “ documentary film”.
Even then it’s the tax payers who foot the bill to cover their tax breaks.
Welfare for the rich and corporations is the American Way.
Hopefully the populace will soon stand up and shout Enough!
2
A confederacy of Dunces...
21
Disgusting. This man has no morals, no shame...just the type representative, playing more than a lawyer's role, that fits this disgusting administration which got a repudiation at least from international leaders...he thinks he can berate everyone but when they laugh at him, and this is on camera, he pulls his usual snit. I mean Trump...Giuliani is the enabler of the Presidential baby.
13
Guiliani is on a pardon-securing mission. The Trump bus is keeping its engines running. Run Rudy Run.
22
Accused of theft, the bank robber uses his last remaining days before incarceration to do a documentary on just how the job was undertaken.
And this documentary about the crime will be used as evidence that the crime was not really a crime.
Somehow, in Trumpworld this makes sense.
To the real world, it is of course sheer madness. Lunacy.
89
@Paul C. McGlasson
Having seen at least one Dinesh d'Souza movie about President Obama , I can imagine what kind of nonsense will be presented in a " documentary".
6
One would think that a former U.S. Attorney would behave better wehn under investigation.
5
No reasonable person could doubt that Giuliani will be able to find some low-life in Europe who is willing to lie on behalf of Trump and himself----if offered enough money. Count on it.
18
This strikes me as one of those instances where the making of the making of the documentary would be much more interesting.
15
Imagine if some attorney of Bill Clinton's had run around trying to dig up support from a foreign government to talk the Congress out of impeaching him. Republicans would still be screaming about it.
It's amazing and disappointing that Trump supporters and Republican leaders are so OK with the continuing efforts to manufacture dirt. They've completely lost any sense of right and wrong, now content with whatever they can use against the Dems, no matter how much they have to sell their souls to "win".
23
@Mark Miller
In the meantime, while all eyes have been on this segment of the Banana Republic drama, is anyone paying attention to what Ivanka and Jared been up to?
2
Is Barr with him? Is he in the documentary? I bet the FBI has agents following his every move and his electronics are tapped. No way is he running around the globe under investigation and not being spied on by both Putin and us.
14
Can Interpol grab him? Calling all cars, calling all cars, dangerous, duplicitous suspect on the lam. May be armed with tape recorders and cameras and meeting criminals.
18
I remember years ago, in some interview, Giuliani glowing, as he talked about watching The Sopranos on HBO.
8
We have some idea as to why Mr. Giuliani's third wife, Judith Nathan, needed to divorce him. Mr. Giuliani has lost his sense of reason. He's charging around the world on Don Quixote's horse, tilting at windmills called "conspiracy." Mr. Giuliani can no longer tell the "good guys" from the "bad guys" -- he just likes scurrilous adventures.
9
In these aberrant days of Reality White House, I guess raising the stonewall to dialogue and producing a TV show in Ukraine, rather than mounting a factual, realistic legal defense, definitely serves as the best strategy towards beating an impeachment charge. -C
6
No business like show business...
11
Giuliani learned a lot from the mob. Now he is even endorsed by the president. Incredible but true.
6
We really need to stop calling propaganda pieces "documentaries." There's a clear difference and this is the former, not the latter.
16
He really doesn't know when to quit.
4
Rudy is either too cocky and brazen or insane to continue doing what he is doing for Trump in Ukraine.
Another possibility is that Trump has promised him full pardon in advance.
Either way, if there is one person who should be under arrest for suspected treasonous activities, it is Rudy. It is surprising to see him free to fly outside of country.
9
Giuliani needs to be arrested at the airport upon his return. Despite the Barr's failure to investigate (thank god for the SDNY?), there is more than enough in the public domain, as demonstrated by Professors Vance and McQuade https://www.justsecurity.org/66705/united-states-of-america-v-rudolph-w-giuliani/ to charge him. And he's only making it worse for himself with this latest pathetic scheme. He's just emphasizing the personal, off the books nature of the Ukraine game, i.e., that Trump was using his official powers for private, political gain. We have a State Department to effect our foreign policy. President's don't hire private attorneys to influence official acts of foreign governments on behalf of the United States.
16
America's Mayor is on the lam.
Has anyone looked into correlations between countries he's visiting and our extradition treaties?
13
Wow, I bet Rudy’s show will return boffo numbers. Is it a musical? - I can see great production numbers and plenty of leggy dancing babes as audience eye candy. Plenty of casting opportunities for comic relief parts, too, and more second bananas than in all of the republics of Central America. And locations! James Bond, eat your heart out. Leave the gun, take the cannoli, Rudy. I think you’ll have a hit on your hands - and money! Hope you tied up the Foreign!
7
Did he definitely buy a round-trip ticket?
13
Thank you; Good Question, I was just Wondering, Could-He , Or-maybe Using ,Flying In any
Your Various High Officials Planes, have for their Service,? Or From the Presidency of USA.?
1
Why go overseas when he can testify under oath right here?
7
This is too funny, trump-Giuliani are producing their own reality show for cable TV on their Ukrainian extortion scandal.
12
I truly hope this clown is prosecuted for his manipulation
15
I hope gets to live out the rest of his days in a prison for the betrayal of his country.
13
Sounds like Rudy slipped out of the country just in time to avoid being hauled into jail. How he avoided it this long is a wonder. Let's hope they keep him and his made-for-Putin TV specials. How disgusting.
10
What will Rudy be payjng these "prosecutors" for their interviews?
8
This brazen and unlawful behavior of the president's so-called lawyer negates the testimony of Jonathan Turley just given to the House Judiciary Committee. Turley believes the impeachment is moving too quickly. These thugs are moving quickly to continue the coverup and corruption. DJT should have been impeached long ago. We must go forward quickly or this democracy is forever lost.
11
So many liars in this melodrama, can't wait for election day so I can vote against all incumbents.
4
@Ron Dare I ask which party's incumbents.
C.I.A. propaganda. You all need to go back to the late 1970's to understand Giuliani and why Trump was appointed President. It's a coup. Trump unwittingly confirmed it.
1
Keep it up Giuliani, treason has a harsh penalty. Arnold got off because being an Englishman he went back to his true country. But that did not ever sit well with the rest of us. It was the Republican party who made GW Bush sign the Patriot Act. The Pretend King Trump and GOP are on that blurred line which could get very clear if any move from Putin's sidekick, N. Korea's Crazy Loon, sends a missile reaching American soil. Like CA, so called Liberal state remember they don't see us at all. This is the danger of electing someone who is so far gone mentally we are left picking up the pieces.
4
Rudy should be on the No Fly list. Please indict this saboteur when he returns.
9
Rudy, I question your patriotism! If it is proved that you spread misinformation to the American public, you should be tried for corrupting an election.
7
The climax to this "documentary" should be Giuliani picked up by the Feds on his return flight.
7
I hear that Giuliani's servers are in the Ukraine.
12
Looks like Rudy just pulled the pin on his own "hand grenade".
15
Can hardly wait for it to come out on Blue Ray! NOT!!
2
@Ricky Smith
a ha ha ha! Thanks for the laugh!
1
Will he ever return . . . .?
5
My guess is that Ken Burns' job is safe.
15
I'd call it a mockumentary (albeit not as entertaining as "This is SpinalTap"), and wonder who's REALLY providing there funding.
Truthfully, it IS time for Giuliani to find a new profession. He's already done it--at the Met--in a cameo in "Die Fledermaus." But he'll never rival RuPaul.
6
Remember who is paying for Rudy's trips. That's right, you and me, the U.S. taxpayers.
6
@Indisk, Are you sure, I've read Trump's personal lawyers are being paid out of his campaign funds?
What we can be fairly certain of, is Trump not using his own money; he never spends a cent if he doesn't have to.
4
What made "Rudy" move to the "dark side" along with Barr?
5
What is Giuliani's motive for all this fiction and skulduggery? We see Rudy today as an old, incompetent halfwit, chasing far right wing unicorn theories, to titelate the supremacists who watch Fox News. But why has Giuliani turned himself Trump's ludicrous lap dog? Mr. Giulianii once had a sterling reputation. Now he is seen as a foolish Trump sycophant. Has Rudy no friends or family that could give him wise counsel?
6
Barr's mafia power allowed a criminal to travel out of USA. Any other AG would have make sure people like Giuliani stays home and face the real music of American justice.
8
How much is Giuliani paying Ukrainians to act in his so called documentary?
6
I’ll bet it’s less than scale with a promise of backend.
2
Next, Trump himself will go on his own hair-raising fishing expedition in Ukraine.
3
SDNY/EDNY, if you’re listening, I don’t need to remind you there is no Fourth Amendment protection at the border, an AUSA, and I was one once, would have CBP search Rudy’s luggage, phone, etc. at the airport upon his return to the US. Please at least try and then call IG Michael Horowitz as soon as Roy Cohn, I’m mean Bill Barr, stops you from doing it.
9
@TS - Hmm. . . So, Bill Barr is Donald Trump's new Roy Cohn. Interesting.
1
Who is going to air this Ukranian documentary in the US? Oh, Fox, I guess.
4
If Trump and Giuliani can't get the current anti-corruption administration of Ukraine to fake up a Biden/2016 investigation, they'll do a bogus one with the old ultra-corrupt regime of Ukraine as star witnesses. What a sham! Why would anyone believe what those crooks say?
Oops, sorry. Lots of people believe what the crook in the White House and his crooked attorney say, so maybe this will work.
3
Impeachment of the President. Rudy has found a case he can sink his teeth into.
As to the documentary, Trump supporters, Big Bubba and Little Bubba, aren't watching. They prefer "Duck Dynasty" reruns.
2
Rudy, what do Roger Stone’s sunset years look like to you?
6
Pardon me?
1
Add this to the charge sheet for Rudy. His perp-walk day is coming.
6
What's OJ doing? He should join Giuliani, and they can search for the "real killer" too.
8
When you are in a hole, stop digging?
3
The Ghoul is assisting our traitor president in squeezing Ukraine so they make a deal with Russia to legitimize the occupation of Crimea and eastern Ukraine among other things.
9
What will the Trump / GOP sheeple come up with after Joe Biden drops out of the campaign ?? ...
All these efforts to smear him will be for ?? ...
I am amazed Trump / GOP believe that if they do the exact same things they did to Hillary, again to the new Dem candidate, they will win !! ?? ... Right ? ...
Are WE really that ignorant / stupid ?
2
You do know the answer to that question, don’t you?
1
The depth of the depravity of Trump Inc is awesome. There is no absolute right - only absolute wrong.
There is no bottom to the hell that they will try to throw at their "enemies" in order to get their way.
Guiliani cannot be allowed to get away with this.
He is leading an effort to destroy the Constitution of the USA.
Prison must be his fate once justice has returned to DC.
7
Setting up alibis is MOBSTER CRIME FAMILY TACTIC.
A shameful and disgraceful epitaph on this minion of Moscow legacy!
6
Why hasn't Rudy been disbarred by this time? He makes Aaron Burr look like a choirboy in comparison.
7
Is this for real??
2
Is it not possible for Giuliani--or, it seems, anyone connected with Trump--to deal with anyone except for crooks, thugs, and slimeballs?
4
I trust the NYT has a crack team of reporters assigned to investigate this angle of the story in the most comprehensive manner.
4
Obviously has learned his boss's tactics of doubling down. Perhaps also trying to raise money for legal fees in anticipation of an indictment. It must be horrible to be Rudy Giuliani.
10
A good start. Now, can he just stay there, or move to another country that does not have an extradition treaty with US?
4
Welcome to 1984 - where history is rewritten to fit the narrative of those in power.
14
Rudy is a walking talking travelling trial exhibit of why Trump must be impeached. Brazen is the gop telling airy tales to justify trump's abuses of power. What Rudy is doing - clearly with Trump's permission or at his direction- is openly declaring war on our most fundamental democratic principles.
12
WHY is Giuliani -- under investigation for multiple felony-offenses and a clear flight risk -- even allowed to travel abroad at will?
Not to mention his continuing collusion with the Trump Ukraine cover-up propaganda disinformation?
Giuliani should be in preventative detention -- both as a flight risk from prosecution and a clear and present danger to the USA's national security and best interests.
40
@NYer Much as I would like it, the law does not allow for this type of detention of a US citizen. It would be much easier to just arrest him. There's plenty of evidence.
3
I find the whole situation about Rudy's effort quite hilarious. I mean he picks up these discredited Ukrainians to debunk the impeachment hearings but who cares what this bunch thinks? Perhaps only those Trump supporters who have left nothing to latch on to after he has been clearly exposed. Even Reps in the House are unable to dispute the facts that gave emerged, let alone the Ukrainian amigos. Further, on one hand Trump blames Ukraine for interesting in 2016 elections and then on the other side wants to use them to bolster his fake narratives! Two faced indeed! What kind of mindless strategy is that?
9
@Rahul
Good points. Some Republican (Nunes, McCarthy, ???) was saying anything from Parnas should be ignored because he's under indictment, but then Rudy seeks input from some of the most corrupt Ukrainians at the heart of this.
3
And, of course, The Swamp King has no idea what Rudy is doing, or even if he still is represented by the Un-American Mayor. Obviously, Rudy is doing whatever he can to ensure that the bus Trump uses for used up ex-loyalists misses him.
5
This is like a Peter Sellers movie gone really bad. But as Kenen Thompson said in a SNL skit, "Ain't nothing gonna happen" to Trump. Guiliani is another story. He might end up on the chopping block, along with Mannafort, Stone & Cohen. Here's hoping.
15
Giuliani claims to be Trump's lawyer pro bono; for free.
Does that mean that Giuliani is picking up the tab for his travel and lodging expenses as he galavants back and forth across the Atlantic and around various cities in eastern Europe?
New York to Kyiv to Budapest and back and forth; on commercial airlines? Business class? How about first class on Oligarch Airlines private jets.
"At your disposal. Where to next, sir?"
Giuliani doesn't stay in tourist hotels either, not Rudy the Rock, no sir!
Barr's Justice Department won't ask, but somebody should ask to see Giuliani's travel expenses receipts for all his "pro bono" efforts on behalf of Donald Trump.
If so much as one ruble, er, I mean, one nickel of remuneration or service has come from a foreign entity, that makes Giuliani a foreign agent subject to registering as such.
14
Besides , He travels with a Troupe of Assistantships ,Security,Limousines Services
Food & Beverages Consumes, And Them all , hard to believe They as well , Do not need professional
Payment,and Would be Working in Expensive Life-Pro-Bono...?
1
He's a guy who has really fallen to incredible depths.
6
incredulous. please somebody charge him before he makes not just a baloney movie but also a bad movie artistically
2
As much as I love all the comments that hit the nail on the head, the sad thing is that thousands, maybe millions, of people will watch this garbage and buy into it. Worse still, about 54 of them will be US Senators.
47
Are these not the very same prosecutors that this same administration tried to get rid of? This is a really baffling development. 
4
NYT, have you - or has anyone - looked into the finances of these travels? Are the taxpayers funding any of it, is Giuliani using any government resources (personnel, planes, phones, etc.), does he have taxpayer provided security, etc? These are actual not petty inquiries and using your resources to examine this would be informative for the public and your readership.
25
What is Rudy doing out of the country? Isn't he a flight risk? Shouldn't his passport be revoked?
8
Well, if that ain't rich - Giuliani interviewing Ukrainians "to shift the focus to purported wrongdoing by President Trump’s political rivals." Everyone knows just how credible Giuliani is (wink wink).
5
Rudy might just get Mitch to get honest. Rudy is just as much a wild card as Trump and both are uncontainable without impeachment.
2
If Giuliani and Trump had nothing to worry about, Rudy would just stay home and wait instead of trying to maneuver.
5
I also would like to know if it was true about the queen of mean case were Giuliani was the prosecutor and this case favored trump’s real estate.
2
So, Rudy Giuliani is in Eastern Europe for the conservative network OAN, talking with Lutsenko, Kulyk, Shokin and who knows who else while digging up information for use in an anti-impeachment special.
Nothing suspicious about that, is there? And it's not reckless or stupid either, is it? And of course, Rudy, who is just a whisker away from being indicted, couldn't possibly be meeting with all these guys in advance so everyone could get their stories straight? Surely not. And prosecutors will never ask Rudy to testify on penalty of perjury about what he was doing in Eastern Europe, will they?
Rudy is the gift that keeps on giving. Luckily, I have it on good authority that President Trump doesn't know Rudy -- no, not at all. Furthermore, that is not the sound of a bus revving up.
9
He is a consultant and apparently media exec based on this. Doesn’t seem he has been acting as an attorney....
4
Were I a person possessed of the skill set, I'd be interpolating real investigative testimony from the hearings in OAN's trash propaganda.
I'd also be interjecting statements that particularly apply to whether or not Ukraine met the Pentagon's standards for demonstrating anti-corruption progress. It did.
I'd also suggest that we're seeing more of Rudy's vaunted expertise--in so many areas--which means he's probably doing something esoteric, far beyond the reach of such plebes as ourselves to perceive. Only the Stable Genius, -1, has the ability to comprehend the strategic truth of all this.
1
Rudy will have his thumb on the scale to try and create more smoke. Any findings will be greatly suspect, likely coming from Russian propaganda or they would have been presented long ago.
This is all Republicans do now, create conspiracy theories without proof except by proven liars.
4
Getting their Stories straight, and filming propaganda for the Campaign. How very Republican.
Seriously.
9
This is about further dividing the country to defend Trump's fake Ukrainian conspiracy against him. Giuliani is tireless. Like Trump nothing will stop him until the law comes down.
6
Rudy "Truth isn’t truth" Guliani is now a legend. He has become a historical figure: From America's "Greatest Mayor" to one of "America's greatest criminals."
6
Hopefully it’s a one way ticket.
6
Clearly, Rudy has learned nothing from the past few months. And he apparently doesn't realize yet that the Republicans are going to blame him for Ukrainegate. A bus is approaching...
4
maybe the US will get lucky and he will defect.
5
Why doesn't he just go live over there? Sure spends a lot of time there.
6
WHAT? Drain the swamp indeed. I hope Giuliani will be held accountable, and soon!
4
I have a question:
If alleged corruption by the Biden’s is so important to Trump why didn’t he initiate an investigation when he first came into office i.e. why did he wait until his re-election campaign began?
894
@KJS - Good point. Follow up question, why not use the Justice Department? Why use Rudy and his shifty pals?
149
@KJS
Why weren't Kerry's criticisms of the Viet Nam war a concern until he ran for President? Why weren't Hillary's emails of much importance until she ran? Why did GOP only try to claim that Obama was Muslim or was born in Kenya once he ran?
Because Republicans' main campaign tactic is to find or make up something about whoever runs against them; the higher the office the more they make up. These concerns, real or fabricated, weren't important until they needed some trash-talking to have any chance of winning. And, unfortunately, they're proving it works on a large segment of the US population.
Very sad ! We are truly becoming a third-world tin pot dictatorship.
279
@KJS
Don't forget that Trump's re-election campaign began the day he was sworn in.
102
Aren't documentaries supposed to be based in fact?
Also, will it be included with Amazon Prime?
21
I'm curious if elements of this whole affair are as simple as they seem: Trump administration is obstructing and attempting to obstruct an investigation, which Trump et al. say is bogus because they don't have an opportunity to defend themselves. But they also refuse to participate, refuse to be questioned, refuse to help themselves.
The whole story doesn't seem real; it's too ... I don't know, it's too much like the sort of movie or television series that wouldn't be believable.
15
easy peasy just subpoena Mulvaney, Guiliani and Bolton and once it gets to SCOTUS, maybe we can get a ruling to sort out the bad apples from the rotten apples. unfortunately, it doesn't appear we have any good apples in the Barrel.
3
@Brian McGloin
-Re-read the Watergate timeline soon for more on how inept political operatives behave in pursuit of " dirt"
It's amazing that Guiliani, presumably with Trump's approval, is still trying to get Ukranians to justify Trump's actions. None of these former prosecutor's statements mean a thing when it comes to the facts of the case: Trump tried to bribe Ukraine to produce investigations that Ukraine meddled in the 2016 election (debunked) and that the Bidens acted corruptly (no evidence). It's all part of the distraction. It is unbelievably brazen that Trump and Guiliani are still pursuing this corrupt objective.
I doubt Guiliani is doing any of this for free. I suspect Trump's campaign committee is paying him through some front or other...
17
I wonder if the SDNY investigation will be completed while he’s away and he’ll be perp-walked off the plane. That would be a sight
Don’t all these actions point to the corrupt intent that’s needed to make the obstruction article stick?
I have my doubts as to whether republicans are paying attention to this activity. I hope each and every one that disregards the facts will be painted with the same brush of corruption as trump in the annals of history as well as immediately on the front page of every newspaper in the world.
17
Why hasn't Rudy's passport been seized? He is under investigation for subverting the legitimate work of official US government agencies overseas, and other criminal behaviors. Whether he's doing all this of his own accord, or at Mr. Trumps instruction it's unlikely legal. If he's working for Trump then Individual 1 must be suspected of the same crimes as his henchman.
98
My hat is off to President Trump and his advisors. They predicted that they would not fair well during the impeachment hearings so instead are going to present their case directly to the public in the form of a documentary series that will be broadcast through every imaginable form of communications. It will be widely promoted. It will vindicate Trump, vilify Biden and Democrats, extol Trump’s greatness. Be prepared.
6
You forgot the /s.
1
@James Blum So if we get you right, propaganda is the thing that will vindicate Trump, and the proper operation of our democracy shall be subsumed to said propaganda. Support for this view makes it clear that our nation is on a downbound train.
2
They got Leni Riefenstahl to direct, what can go wrong? Can’t wait for Variety’s headline!
4
Mr. Giuliani should find some country that doesn't have an extradition treaty with the U.S., and camp there.
That would be the very best thing he could do for himself and for Mr. Trump.
I'm surprised he didn't get picked up at the airport on his way abroad, like his buddies did.
10
This reminds me of the Middle Ages when kings had absolute power because there were no democratic laws. Is this where we're heading because of a complicit GOP? In the 21st century? Insanity rules...
13
So, Mr. Giuliani, acting in the absence of Mr. Stone and Mr. Bannon, is producing his own little video production of how Mr. Trump was betrayed? To what possible profit?
6
Those who put POTUS over their Country are purposely assisting Russia. That goes for folks in the US and Ukraine.
12
He knows if he can save Trump, he can save himself... or been seen trying to save Trump.
Maybe he is gathering more info for that much talked about insurance policy.
He is running scared.
Note to Rudy.. Your last name is not Trump.. or Kushner.. or Trump.
6
Thankfully, due to Representative Nunes' foolish suit against CNN, it will be able, if it so chooses, to get all of his cell phone, tablet, computer, and other electronic records and messages to Mr. Giuliani, the two Ukrainians who have been indicted, and his handlers in the White House. And, because it is a civil action instituted by Representative Nunes, all of the discovery will be subject to public disclosure. On behalf of all Americans, thank you, Representative Nunes and your lawyers, for your folly.
161
Rudy is doubling down. He must figure that he is in so deep that there is no turning back.
The basic Republican game plan is to create a complete, comprehensive and overwhelming alternative reality. Corrupt Ukrainian politicians are an endless renewable resource to be tapped into. You can buy them, one after another, until your pockets are empty. How many do you need? With OAN cameras, breathless talking heads and oaths ceremoniously taken on the Bible, it's the total media package tailor made for piping into Trump World.
An interesting unscripted dramatic moment might arise if Giuliani is indicted in the middle of all this.
9
Or, it could punch up a dragging second act.
You have done a terrific job in outlining how the Federal government manipulates public opinion, to put it nicely, utilizing the indelible visual medium and it's especially rich that you wrote about Giuliani doing what he likely did in NY for decades with American TV.
Conspicuously absent in the documentary, as described, is the alternate view in the Ukraine debacle. That means the documentary is outright brainwashing propaganda.
5
Hilarious and sad. If it's all a hoax, wouldn't it be easier to testify?
Of course not. Propaganda is easier. Especially for the gullible.
12
"Mr. Giuliani is using the trip, which has not been previously reported, to help prepare more episodes of a documentary series for a conservative television outlet promoting his pro-Trump, anti-impeachment narrative."
Why is he bothering? The people who watch the conservative television outlet (gee, what could that be) could not care less about any attempts at defending Trump. He is their guy No Matter What He Does.
49
"His trip to Budapest and Kyiv suggests that he is unbowed by the intense scrutiny that has enveloped him and his associates, including revelations from the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday of frequent calls from Mr. Giuliani to the White House and other figures in the pressure campaign at key moments this year."
Like Trump, Guliani is fearless in his arrogance and breathtaking in his defiance. I'm hoping SDNY is similarly fearless in prosecuting this seditious behavior.
It certainly is seditious to propagate lies and demonstrably false conspiracy thinking in a TV series designed to counter a legitimate fact-based impeachment process.
128
By doing all of these things to benefit Trump;what's in it for Rudy ?
-Attorney general appointment ?
-Big cash payment ?
Too many obvious downsides involved to make much sense of this for Rudy to take it on.
-One more " stable genius " in the world .
13
@Kringletown
Avarice. There are millions of corrupt money floating around in Ukraine. He wants money like Stone and Manafort made.
2
@Kringletown you must not know many Republicans, because they're ALL IN for DJT and will do almost anything to protect him. That's why despite all the evidence, if you read a comment board at FoxNews.com about the impeachment, or speak to a Republican abotu it, you'll realize that these people don't trust any facts that don't support their own currently-held beliefs.
1