Donald Trump begs Rudy Giuliani not to take him down

| 6:20 pm EDT October 13, 2019
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After Rudy Giuliani’s associates were arrested this week for their roles in Donald Trump’s Ukraine scandal, Trump quickly started throwing Rudy under the bus. Trump claimed he didn’t know the two men, even though he’s been posing for photos with Lev Parnas for years. Trump also refused to say this week whether Rudy is still his attorney. Then things changed.

Yesterday Rudy Giuliani publicly reminded Donald Trump that he can take him down any time he wants. Rudy asserted to the media that he wasn’t working for the Ukrainians, he was working for Trump. Wouldn’t you know it, Trump took the hint. Yesterday he posted an over-the-top tweet in support of Rudy, and then – according to the New York Times – he had lunch with Rudy.

We can only imagine how this lunch must have gone. Giuliani probably took a moment to subtly remind Trump that he knows where all of Trump’s bodies are buried. Trump likely responded by hinting that if Rudy remains loyal to him, Trump will pardon him in the end. Of course these two men are disloyal and corrupt to the hilt, so it’s unlikely that either one of them was being forthright. The question is whether each is aware that the other isn’t going to remain loyal.

Rudy Giuliani has a tough choice to make. The SDNY is going to arrest him soon. He’ll likely be denied bail because he’s an obvious flight risk to any of the numerous countries whose payroll he’s on. We’ll then see if Donald Trump is willing to further destabilize what’s left of his presidency by pardoning Rudy, which could be the last straw that forces Senate Republicans to conclude that they won’t get reelected unless they oust Trump.

In any case, Donald Trump is – for now – begging Rudy Giuliani not to flip on him. The interesting part will come if and when Trump doesn’t pardon Rudy after he’s arrested. Will Rudy be willing to sit there and rot, in the hope that Trump will eventually pardon him on his way out the door? Or will Rudy try to negotiate limited immunity in exchange for providing the kind of evidence that can end Trump’s presidency and put Trump in prison?