Jake Tapper Calls Out Rudy Giuliani About How He Got Joe Biden 'Dirt'
Rudy Giuiliani insisted Monday that purported negative information about Joe Biden he claims to have obtained simply fell into his lap — and that he didn’t make any attempt to “dig” it up.
Then CNN’s Jake Tapper nailed him on Twitter, posting a clip on the cable news network from last year in which President Donald Trump’s personal attorney boasted to host Chris Cuomo that “of course” he pressed Ukraine for information. Giuliani also previously told The New York Times that he was “meddling” in an investigation in Ukraine in a bid to help Trump’s re-election campaign.
CUOMO: So you did ask Ukraine to look into Joe Biden?
GIULIANI: Of course I did. https://t.co/qyvwDA5VUg https://t.co/ultUqQIlYh— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) January 27, 2020
NYT May 2019: "Rudy Giuliani Plans Ukraine Trip to Push for Inquiries That Could Help Trump"https://t.co/4jlSxQk4no
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) January 27, 2020
Giuliani began the vetting of his claims with a Monday Twitter post concerning assertions on Monday by Trump’s defense team in the Senate impeachment trial of the president. He noted that lawyer Jane Raskin told senators that Giuliani did not “dig up dirt” on Biden — but that, in Giuliani’s words, information on the former vice president’s “outrageous criminal conduct was handed to me.”
Giuliani’s claims about alleged Biden misdeeds have yet to be shown to have any credibility.
Tapper, in addition to spotlighting Giuliani’s comments to Cuomo last year, also retweeted a response from the lawyer for Giuliani’s one-time business associate Lev Parnas debunking the idea that the former New York mayor was some kind of passive, “minor” player in the Ukraine operation.
Parnas, indicted along with fellow Florida businessman Igor Fruman for alleged campaign finance violations, has admitted he tried to strong-arm Ukrainian officials into launching an investigation into unfounded accusations against Biden to aid Trump’s campaign. Parnas said he was following the president’s wishes, communicated to him by Giuliani.
The White House claim that Rudy Giuliani was a minor player is false. RG directed Lev Parnas, including giving quid pro quos to Ukranian President Poroshenko & Zelensky Chief of Staff, on behalf of Trump. The evidentiary record corroborates Parnas. #LetLevSpeak #CallTheWitnesses https://t.co/Q5wSIZO5pS
— Joseph A. Bondy (@josephabondy) January 27, 2020
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.