Rudy Giuliani just gave away that Donald Trump expects to stand criminal trial
So far this weekend there have been reports that Rudy Giuliani would, and would not be, Donald Trump’s Senate impeachment trial lawyer. Karl Rove went so far as to predict that if Rudy is in charge, Trump will be convicted. Now Rudy is making a rather strange statement about the whole thing.
Giuliani just told ABC’s Jonathan Karl that “Because I gave an earlier speech [at the January 6 Trump rally], I am a witness and therefore unable to participate in court or Senate chamber.”
This is actually the legally correct position. But here’s the kicker. Rudy Giuliani isn’t just talking about the impeachment trial in the Senate chamber. He’s also saying he won’t be able to represent Donald Trump in “court.” In other words, Rudy just gave away that Trump expects to stand criminal trial for inciting the Capitol attack.
Rudy might have been able to get away with representing Trump in the impeachment trial, if only because Senate Democrats might have been willing to let him do it just because it would help with conviction. But no judge was ever going to let Rudy represent his co-conspirator Trump in a criminal trial. So now Trump has decided he needs a new lawyer for both.
This further suggests that Trump either doesn’t plan to pardon himself for the Capitol attack, or doesn’t expect it to hold up in court, or expects to face state charges for the attack that he can’t even try to pardon. Rudy just keeps opening his mouth and giving things away.
