Sorry, Rudy Giuliani, that’s not how anything works
Rudy Giuliani, personal lawyer to “President” Donald Trump, appears to be going to his normal place- no attention paid to the legalities or truth. In his latest tweet, Giuliani stated:”Mueller’s Record Officer erased over 19,000 Stroyk Page texts after it was revealed he was asked to leave for texts showing that Stroyk had a plan(an insurance policy) to remove the President from office. They say DOJ policy but that policy does not cover destruction of evidence.”
Renato Mariotti, a former prosecutor and current CNN legal analyst, replied to Rudy: “Are you aware that you have an ethical obligation not to make false statements in connection with a legal proceeding?” Renato’s reply echoed many others on Twitter, correctly challenging Giuliani as he continues to just make things up to suit whatever position he is trying to lie about.
The Giuliani tweet may have been inspired by Sean Hannity reporting about the Office of Inspector General report. Hannity suggested that the texts had been deleted. However, as The Hill reported, the texts were not erased. They were lost and not captured for unknown reasons, with no “discernible patterns.” As the OIG redacted report specifies in detail, there was a gap in collection of data, partially due to not being able to locate a prior phone of Lisa Page and other reasons.
Rudy Giuliani as usual has tried to spin the facts as being an intentional move by the Special Counsel’s Office. Giuliani should take note of Mariotti’s advice and be careful as a lawyer. Giuliani knows better and has an ethical obligation not to falsely make statements to change reality. Caveat emptor, Giuliani.
Daniel is a lawyer writing and teaching about SCOTUS, and is the author of the book “The Chief Justices” about the SCOTUS as seen through the center seat.