‘We need a few hundred thousand’: Rudy Giuliani butt-dials reporter and leaves accidental voicemail revealing conversation about big money, Turkey, and ‘a fraud case’
- President Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani butt-dialed an NBC News reporter earlier this month and left a three-minute voicemail
- Giuliani can be heard discussing foreign business dealings and needing hundreds of thousands of dollars in the recorded message
- NBC News reporter Rich Schapiro wrote a first-person article on Friday detailing the contents of the call
Rudy Giuliani butt-dialed a reporter earlier this month, leaving a three-minute voicemail where he’s heard discussing foreign business dealings and his need for cash.
On Friday, NBC News reporter Rich Schapiro detailed in the first-person the October 16 call, which came at 11:07 p.m. and went to voicemail as the journalist was asleep.
‘The problem is we need some money,’ Giuliani told a mystery man whose voice is also picked up in the message. ‘We need a few hundred thousand,’ the former New York City mayor and President Trump’s personal lawyer said.
President Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani butt-dialed an NBC News reporter earlier this month and can be heard discussing foreign business dealings and needing money
NBC News’ Rich Schapiro wrote a first-person article on Friday detailing the butt-dialed voicemail he received earlier this month from the president’s personal lawyer
The voicemail began with Giuliani talking about someone named ‘Charles.’
‘You know,’ Giuliani told the man he was meeting with. ‘Charles would have a hard time with a fraud case ’cause he didn’t do any due diligence.’
Schapiro described the first minute of the voicemail as being garbled.
The sound then clears up.
‘Let’s get back to business,’ Giuliani said. ‘I gotta get you to Bahrain,’ he told his associate.
Giuliani’s December 2018 Bahrain trip was the focus of a New York Times article headlined, ‘While Working for Trump, Giuliani Courts Business Abroad.’
It detailed how Giuliani was described as the leader of a ‘high-level U.S. delegation’ when meeting with the country’s king and foreign minister when in reality he was there negotiating a security consulting contract for his personal business.
And served as a preview of the administration’s more recent Giuliani-related foreign policy freelancing woes.
The conversation continued with Giuliani saying he’s ‘got to call Robert again tomorrow.’
‘Is Robert around?’ Giuliani added.
His companion noted that Robert is in Turkey.
That’s when Giuliani said he needed ‘some money.’
There’s a pause in the conversation for nine seconds, before Trump’s personal attorney said they needed a ‘few hundred thousand.’
Schapiro speculated that the Robert in question is Robert Magnas, a lawyer at Greenberg Traurig LLP who’s a registered agent of the Turkish government.
Giuliani worked at the same firm until last spring.
They worked together on the case or Reza Zarrab, a Turkish gold trader charged in the U.S. with money laundering of Iranian dollars. Giuliani traveled to Turkey and tried to strike a deal directly with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to help his client. It didn’t sit well with the federal prosecutor, NBC reported.
Mangas didn’t respond to NBC’s request for comment.
At the tail end of the voicemail, Giuliani is heard responding a comment about $20,000 and about Bahrain, but much of what they said was unintelligible.
Schapiro had been in contact with Giuliani earlier in the day for a story, which is likely how the butt-dial occurred.