Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani bills himself as President Donald Trump's attorney. But one former prosecutor explained why that is not an accurate description during a Monday appearance on MSNBC.
"Meet the Press Daily" anchor Katy Tur interviewed former Southern District of New York Assistant U.S. Attorney Mimi Rocah, who is a distinguished fellow in criminal justice at Pace Law School.
"So this news that the SDNY is looking into what Rudy Giuliani was doing overseas in Ukraine, explain what they’re doing. Also, very weird since Giuliani used to run the office," Tur noted.
"It is unusual," Rocah replied. "But, you know, more credit to them for doing that and in many ways, I think that they’re looking at Giuliani, who used to be former U.S. Attorney, you know, and saying 'What are you doing?' Right? It makes it all the more sort of shocking and incredulous that he might have committed crimes like this."
"And that he’s hiding behind this veil of being the president’s lawyer. I mean, I almost wish we could stop calling him that, because none of this stuff that he’s doing with respect to Ukraine, Giuliani, is as a lawyer, a legal matter, pertaining to the president," she explained.
"I mean, if he is — what it looks like they’re getting at here, is they’re looking at his work with these two men who have now been indicted, [Lev] Parnas and [Igor] Fruman, to amongst other things, get Ambassador of Ukraine, [Marie] Yovanovitch, out. Why? Some people in Ukraine didn’t want her because she is a corruption fighter. Giuliani didn’t want her because she didn’t like what he was doing on the side and behind the back of the State Department," she continued.
"Those are not legitimate reasons and Giuliani isn’t acting legitimately as the president’s lawyer in doing that. There’s no privilege here," Rocah concluded.
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