It was New Year’s Eve at Mar-a-Lago and reporters were interested in learning if Rudy Giuliani was willing to testify at President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial. Giuliani revealed that he was willing to do many things, including … prosecuting the case?
Giuliani's answer to being asked if he'd testify at the impeachment trial is completely insane pic.twitter.com/8BMjVy4r9A
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) January 1, 2020
First, the Q&A.
Q: Would you testify at the trial?
A: I would testify, I would do demonstrations, I’d give lectures, I’d give summations. Or, I do what I do best, I’d try the case. I’d love to try the case.
Q: Would you do it? Are you going to? Are you telling us you will try the case?
A: I don’t know if anybody would have the courage to give me the case, but if you give me the case, I will prosecute it as a racketeering case, which I kind of invented anyway. So, it’s been 30 years ago, but let’s see if I can still do it. Thank you.
Let’s recap: Giuliani, who is under investigation in the Southern District of New York and whose fingerprints are all over the Ukraine scandal, is willing to testify at the Senate trial of his client, President Trump. To be clear, Trump is a defendant accused of abusing his power and obstructing Congress, but Giuliani says he can “prosecute” a RICO case.
The reaction from legal observers was a cocktail of dumbfounded and concerned.
Somebody had way too much to drink last night.
For him the entire year 2020 could be one big hangover.Giuliani Tells Reporters at Trump's Mar-a-Lago NYE Party That He 'Would Testify' in Senate Impeachment Trial https://t.co/5jrVkOYjHd
— Richard W. Painter (@RWPUSA) January 1, 2020
Can we do a quick conflict-of-interest refresher? Giuliani just said he’d be willing to “prosecute” the Senate trial in which he represents the president who is . . . wait for it . . . the defendant! Maybe he just wants to prosecute a case so strong that even HE could win it? https://t.co/03VumUiibf
— Glenn Kirschner (@glennkirschner2) January 1, 2020
I’d say this a lighthearted take on the ramblings of Rudy but there’s not much funny about Giuliani’s faltering faculties. #RudyRamblings https://t.co/jlPt5JL4H4
— Glenn Kirschner (@glennkirschner2) January 1, 2020
Rudy talking about testifying in the Senate and representing Trump in the trial and turning it into a racketeering case (???) is the only way 2019 could have ended. pic.twitter.com/VxXgXRMRSl
— Eric Columbus (@EricColumbus) January 1, 2020
Giuliani retweeted the video on Wednesday for good measure.
Rudy Giuliani just retweeted this video of him bragging that he would “prosecute” the case against Trump (his own client) as a “racketeering case.” https://t.co/KDyG2DPBJJ
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) January 1, 2020
What could Giuliani have meant? It seems that he’s champing at the bit to argue at Trump’s trial that it is actually Joe Biden and Hunter Biden who are on trial.
It wouldn’t be the first time that Giuliani brought up racketeering in the context of calling for the prosecution of political opponents. In Oct. 2016, Giuliani claimed that there was enough evidence to bring a RICO case against the Clinton Foundation. In Nov. 2019, he said that when he talks about having an “insurance policy” in case he gets “thrown under the bus” or “disappear[s],” what he really means is that he has a “RICO chart” in a safe that connects the dots of a decades-long Biden Family conspiracy to profit off of public office.
TRUTH ALERT:
The statement I’ve made several times of having an insurance policy, if thrown under bus, is sarcastic & relates to the files in my safe about the Biden Family’s 4 decade monetizing of his office.
If I disappear, it will appear immediately along with my RICO chart.
— Rudy Giuliani (@RudyGiuliani) November 23, 2019
Whatever the case, it seems the former mayor of New York City had himself an enjoyable evening among the stars.
Rudy Giuliani pictured at Mar-a-Lago this NYE. pic.twitter.com/CcAdlYqYtW
— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) January 1, 2020
[Image via Twitter screengrab]
