Rudy Giuliani, one of President Donald Trump’s attorneys, says he is ‘quite certain’ the president did not know Michael Cohen was trying to sell his insight into the president.
Giuliani told The Associated Press on Friday that Trump was ‘surprised’ to learn that Cohen, his longtime attorney and self-described fixer, brokered deals with companies looking to gain his knowledge about the president.
Asked if the president was aware that Cohen was trying to sell influence and knowledge of the president, Giuliani said: ‘The answer is that I am quite certain he didn’t.’
The former New York City mayor, who is part of the outside legal team representing Trump in the Russian election meddling investigation, said he asked Trump about one of Cohen’s clients, a firm with ties to a Russian oligarch, the day the story broke.
‘He knew nothing about it,’ Giuliani said, adding that he had yet to ask Trump about some of the other corporations that paid Cohen, including telecom giant AT&T.
Cash for knowledge: Michael Cohen used his long-time role as Trump’s fixer and lawyer to pitch himself as able to provide ‘insight’ to the newly-elected president
New attorney: ‘I haven’t talked to him in detail except for the first day it came out. When it first came out, he was surprised,’ Giuliani said of the scandal engulfing Cohen
‘I haven’t talked to him in detail except for the first day it came out. When it first came out, he was surprised,’ Giuliani said.
Giuliani also said it not appear Cohen took any steps to advance the interests of the companies that paid him and did not speak to the president on their behalf.
‘There doesn’t seem to be any involvement with us,’ he said.
Cohen’s deals netted him at least $4 million and saw him signed up by AT&T and Novartis, the pharmaceutical giant. Both companies have apologized and in AT&T’s cases ousted the executive who signed the deal.
Giuliani also said that any preparation with Trump for a possible interview with investigators would likely be delayed until after the June 12 summit in Singapore because ‘I wouldn’t want to take his concentration off something far, far more important.’
Trump’s lawyers haven’t decided whether it would be in the president’s best interests anyway to speak with Mueller. Giuliani said that he had hoped to resolve that question by May 17, the one-year anniversary of Mueller’s appointment, but that was no longer feasible.
‘Several things delayed us, with the primary one being the whole situation with North Korea,’ Giuliani said. ‘The president has been very busy. It really would be pretty close to impossible to spend the amount of time on it we would need.’
Though Giuliani would not provide an exact date as to when a determination would be made about the interview, he said ‘it would be silly to make a decision’ before the much-anticipated summit.
He said that the demands on Trump’s time meant that his legal team had ‘not done a lot’ in terms of preparing the president for a possible in-person interview.
‘It would take a while and he’s focused on North Korea,’ said Giuliani.
A number of Trump allies, including Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday, have recently stepped up calls for Mueller’s investigation to wrap up, suggesting it was interfering in the president’s ability to do the country’s business.
All waiting for Kim: The June 12 summit with the North Korean leader who met Mike Pompeo this week and released three American prisoners means that Trump has no time to prepare for a Mueller interview and his legal team have made no decisions on whether one will take place
No questions: Giuliani predicted Jared and Ivanka will not be interviewed by Mueller
Mueller’s team is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible coordination with Trump associates as well as whether the president obstructed justice. So far, the special counsel’s office has charged 19 people – including four Trump campaign advisers – and three Russian companies.
Both Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and his deputy campaign chairman, Rick Gates, have pleaded guilty and are now cooperating with the probe.
A number of other former White House and campaign staffers, like Reince Priebus and Steve Bannon, as well as Inauguration Day committee chairman Tom Barrack, have been interviewed.
Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City, demurred when asked if Trump would consider it a ‘red line’ for his children to be interviewed.
His daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared, Kushner, both worked on the campaign and are senior advisers at the White House, while Trump’s adult sons, Don Jr. and Eric, were also leading figures on the campaign.
Giuliani said he did not expect those interviews with Mueller to take place.
‘Our understanding is that he’s pretty much finished,’ Giuliani said. ‘Doing more interviews would be inconsistent with what he’s indicated would be the timeframe of the investigation.’
‘As far we know, we’re basically the last witness,’ the former mayor said, though he did not elaborate as to whether he meant for the possible obstruction of justice component of the investigation or the entire probe.
It’s over: Rudy Giuliani claimed of Robert Mueller: ‘Our understanding is that he’s pretty much finished.’
The special counsel’s office has not outlined the duration of the probe. Mueller’s investigation has operated largely in secrecy with the public only getting glimpses into its operation through witnesses who are questioned or when indictments and guilty pleas are publicly unsealed.
Though Giuliani left the door open for an interview, Trump has recently signaled a more confrontational legal strategy against the probe, ripping into what he dismissed as an investigation into a ‘made up, phony crime.’
Trump’s tweets this week were fresh evidence that the cooperative approach Mueller that had been advocated by the president’s legal team for months has gone by the wayside. It also revealed the president’s anxiety about how the investigation could sway voters as they decide whether to keep congressional Republicans in power or force him to face an aggressive Democratic majority.
‘The 13 Angry Democrats in charge of the Russian Witch Hunt are starting to find out that there is a Court System in place that actually protects people from injustice…and just wait ’till the Courts get to see your unrevealed Conflicts of Interest!’ Trump wrote Monday.
Trump appeared to be drawing attention to a federal judge’s questioning last week of Mueller’s authority in a case against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort. But it was unclear what legal action Trump was referring to that would touch on ‘unrevealed’ conflicts of interest.
Mueller is a longtime Republican, but some members of his team have made political contributions to Democrats, including to Hillary Clinton, Trump’s Democratic opponent in the 2016 election.
Mueller could not have barred them from serving on the team based solely on their political contributions. Federal regulations and Justice Department policy prohibit the consideration of political affiliation in hiring and other personnel actions involving career attorneys.
In congressional testimony, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has defended Mueller’s team against criticism that it was politically tainted.
‘We recognize we have employees with political opinions. And it’s our responsibility to make sure those opinions do not influence their actions,’ Rosenstein said, adding: ‘I believe that Director Mueller understands that and that he is running that office appropriately.’