WASHINGTON – Rudolph Giuliani, by his own admission, reached out to a foreign government to unearth damaging information about his boss’ potential presidential rival – mixing roles of personal attorney and unofficial diplomat.
In short, Giuliani can't have it both ways, said Josh Rosenstein, a Washington, D.C., lawyer who advises clients on foreign lobbying laws. “Either he is admitting that he was somehow an unofficial emissary of the U.S.
The president has come to Giuliani's defense, tamping down speculations that his standing might be in peril. Giuliani, however, has been distinctly mum about the arrests last week of two of his associates, Igor Fruman and Lev Parnas, charged by federal prosecutors in Manhattan of funneling foreign money to American political campaigns. Two other men were charged as well.Prosecutors allege that Parnas and Fruman gave $5,400 to a U.S. congressman and pledged to raise another $20,000 as they sought his help in removing Marie Yovanovitch as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.
A spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in the Southern District of New York said she cannot confirm whether Giuliani is under investigation, but the probe into Parnas and Fruman is ongoing. The Justice Department has shown a willingness to prosecute high-profile figures with ties to foreign countries. Among them are two men who once were in Trump’s inner circle: Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser who is awaiting sentencing, and Paul Manafort, the former campaign chairman who's serving seven and a half years in prison.
Parnas and Fruman: Criminal case against Giuliani's associates darkens cloud over Trump's personal attorney, White House In that case, conversations between him and Trump may not be protected, experts say. Communication between an attorney and his client is protected only if they pertain to the issue for which the attorney was hired.
Giuliani can't avoid testifying in impeachment inquiry, experts sayStill, Rosenzweig said there is no way Giuliani can use attorney-client privilege to shield himself entirely from testifying in impeachment proceedings."The only thing it will accomplish – and it probably will succeed to some extent – is to delay his testimony,” he said.
Nothing will happen to Trump. Trump will not be impeached.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: ABC - 🏆 471. / 51 Read more »
Source: NYMag - 🏆 111. / 63 Read more »
Source: VanityFair - 🏆 391. / 55 Read more »
Source: ABC - 🏆 471. / 51 Read more »
Source: VanityFair - 🏆 391. / 55 Read more »
Source: NYMag - 🏆 111. / 63 Read more »