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It seems the rift between President Donald Trump and his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani is growing, with a recent miscommunication between the pair leaving Mr Giuliani in an awkward position.
On Saturday, Mr Giuliani told ABC News he would be working as part of Mr Trump’s defence team for his upcoming impeachment trial.
Mr Trump recently became the first President in US history to be impeached twice, following claims he incited the riot at the Capitol earlier this month that led to five deaths.
“I’m involved right now … that’s what I’m working on,” Mr Giuliani told the publication.
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He said the President’s defence would likely include allegations of widespread voter fraud, despite these claims being repeatedly rejected.
“They basically claimed that anytime (Trump) says voter fraud, or I do, or anybody else, we’re inciting to violence; that those words are fighting words because it’s totally untrue,” Mr Giuliani said.
“Well, if you can prove that it’s true, or at least true enough so it’s a legitimate viewpoint, then they are no longer fighting words.”
However, just hours later Trump campaign spokesperson J. Hogan Gidley released a statement that completely contradicted Mr Giuliani’s comments.
“President Trump has not yet made a determination as to which lawyer or law firm will represent him for the disgraceful attack on our Constitution and democracy, known as the
impeachment hoax. We will keep you informed,” he wrote on Twitter.
Not only has the Trump campaign denied Mr Giuliani’s claims, there has been a suggestion that having him on the defence team could make it more likely for Mr Trump to be convicted.
Republican strategist Karl Rove told Fox News Sunday that Mr Giuliani’s comments about what Mr Trump’s argument might be in the impeachment trial “charted a very bad course for the President”.
“If it’s the ‘Rudy Giuliani defence’, there’s a strong likelihood that more than 17 Republicans will, because essentially that argument is: ‘This was justified, the attack on the Capitol and the attempt to end the congressional hearing on certifying the election was justified because all these charges are true.’ And frankly, they aren’t,” Mr Rove said.
Mr Giuliani spoke alongside Mr Trump at the January 6 rally held before pro-Trump supporters attacked the Capitol.
The lawyer called on Trump supporters to engage in “trial by combat” to contest the Presidential election results.
Mr Giuliani has led multiple legal challenges on behalf of the President to try and prove unsubstantiated claims of mass voter fraud.
This miscommunication regarding Mr Giuliani’s role in the upcoming impeachment trial isn’t the first sign that the relationship between the pair had soured.
The Washington Post reported last week that Mr Trump had instructed his aides not to pay the lawyer’s outstanding fees.
Sources told the newspaper the President was offended by Mr Giuliani’s demand for $20,000 a day, a figure the lawyer denies. They say White House officials have been told not to put through any of Mr Giuliani’s calls.
The rift has been denied by Mr Trump’s aide Jason Miller who tweeted: “Just spoke with President Trump, and he told me that @RudyGiuliani is a great guy and a Patriot who devoted his services to the country! We all love America’s Mayor!”
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