Former prosecutors are calling for Rudy Giuliani to be disbarred or even indicted over the alleged “whistleblower” scandal.
The president’s lawyer has faced a barrage of criticism over his reported role in pressuring Ukraine’s government to investigate Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, Law & Crime reports.
Is Giuliani guilty?
The controversy erupted last week when an anonymous whistleblower claimed that Trump, in a July 25 phone call, offered a quid pro quo with a foreign government. Then, on Thursday, Giuliani got into a contentious on-air argument with CNN’s Chris Cuomo in which he admitted to asking Ukraine to look into Biden’s business there, independently of Trump’s directives, according to Fox News.
The scandal enlarged after a Wall Street Journal report alleged that Trump asked Ukraine’s president to investigate Hunter Biden, followed by Trump’s apparent admission on Sunday that he had such a conversation. But Trump and his lawyer both insist that there was no quid pro quo, and no evidence of such has surfaced.
Democrats have nevertheless latched onto the scandal to renew calls for Trump’s impeachment, and some prosecutors are even calling for Giuliani to suffer legal penalties, Law & Crime reports. Former New York prosecutor Mimi Rocah, known for her criticism of Trump, suggested that Giuliani should be disbarred, tweeting:
This how mafia bosses work. They make the “request” & soldiers & capos (Rudy Giuliani) follow up with the demand.
Former prosecutor and University of Michigan law professor Barb McQuade took things a step further, suggesting that “while a sitting President cannot be indicted,” that rule doesn’t apply to Giuliani. “More facts are needed, but if he brokered [a] deal to trade dirt on Biden for foreign aid, he could be guilty of conspiracy to commit bribery. Trump would return to his familiar role as Individual 1,” McQuade said.
Narrative boomerangs to Biden
Where have we heard all this before? Did the left learn nothing from the Trump–Russia hoax? At any rate, thanks to Biden’s entanglement in the story, the narrative has begun shifting, ever so slightly, in a way that Democrats may not like.
Indeed, Giuliani has defended himself by noting that Democrats, while claiming that Trump has colluded with no evidence of a quid pro quo, are ignoring big questions about the Bidens’ involvement in Ukraine.
Whistleblower story, like Kavanaugh story, is blowing up. Now no mention of money or quid pro quo. So appropriate conduct. Now we must look at Biden Family pattern of corruption of selling his public offices for 5 decades. Pattern of corruption enabled by Swamp.
— Rudy Giuliani (@RudyGiuliani) September 22, 2019
Giuliani — who has met with Ukrainian officials over the past few months, according to The Washington Examiner — has attracted increasing criticism for his reportedly key role in the discussions about Biden. Democrats were already calling for investigations into alleged efforts by Trump and Giuliani to extract political favors from the Ukrainians before the whistleblower drama surfaced, but the news of the whistleblower complaint and ensuing media reports about Trump’s phone call have dramatically enlarged the scandal.
Trump has also faced criticism over his decision to freeze $250 million in military aid to Ukraine, which was later released. The left has pointed to the frozen aid as evidence of a quid pro quo. Incidentally, former Vice President Biden threatened to withhold $1 billion in loan guarantees from Ukraine if the country did not fire the prosecutor who was instigating Burisma.
Meanwhile, Giuliani is keeping the focus on where the story seems to be heading: the Bidens.
“If [the Democratic Party] doesn’t call for an investigation of Bidens’ millions from Ukraine and billions from China, they will own it,” he tweeted. “Bidens made big money selling public office. How could [Barack] Obama have allowed this to happen? Will Dems continue to condone and enable this kind pay-for-play?”
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