Giuliani: House investigation ‘a travesty’
Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, tweeted early Sunday that the House investigation into Trump is “a travesty.”
“After 3 witnesses no evidence has been presented of any offense. The first two permanent diplomats had no direct knowledge just overhearing things. The third one had no knowledge not even hearsay. This is a travesty,“ he tweeted.
Giuliani was responding to the opening week of public testimony in the House‘s impeachment inquiry. The House Intelligence Committee, under Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), heard from William Taylor, the acting U.S. ambassador to Ukraine; Marie Yovanovitch, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine; and George Kent, a top State Department official with oversight of Ukraine affairs. All spoke of their knowledge of Trump’s interactions with Ukraine, particularly as it pertained to aid that was temporarily withheld as Trump sought an investigation into a political opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, and his son Hunter.
Giuliani has not testified, but his name has been mentioned prominently, particularly in regards to Yovanovitch’s departure from Ukraine. Giuliani urged Trump to remove her.
As other Republicans have done, Giuliani attempted to redirect the question of wrongdoing so that the arrow points to the Bidens.
“Bribery is a disaster for Dems,“ Giuliani tweeted. "They are trying to impeach @realDonaldTrump what Biden did. Biden offered a thing of value,loan guarantee,in return for official action,firing a prosecutor. That’s bribery. Requesting an investigation of crimes without conditions is innocent.“
Biden and other world leaders were working to get Ukraine’s president to remove Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin, who had a reputation for blocking important cases from proceeding. Ukraine, for many years, was known for pervasive corruption.
When presented with one of Giuliani’s tweets on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) disagreed with Giuliani’s description of the hearings.
“The crimes and the offenses that have been detailed in this testimony are absolutely damning,” Murphy told host Jake Tapper, adding that it was “absolutely clear” Trump attempted to “extort” Ukraine’s president.
The hearings will continue this week, with Gordon Sondland, ambassador to the European Union, as a featured witness.
"I think over the weekend Mr. Sondland has to decide whether his primary loyalty is to America or whether his primary loyalty is to the president of the United States,” Murphy said.
