Rudy Giuliani spoke with special counsel Jack Smith's team over two consecutive days, and Donald Trump's inner circle took notice.
His attorney Robert Costello confirmed the former New York City mayor sat down with prosecutors over the course of two consecutive mornings in late June for about three to four hours each day, but he insisted Trump's former lawyer had not revealed any damaging evidence against the ex-president, reported The Messenger.
"Nothing damaging was disclosed," Costello said. "Rudy Giuliani, when asked the question, tends, you know, he's asked a one-sentence question, and he answers in paragraphs. That's just the way he is. He gives complete and fulsome answers, and oftentimes volunteers information that he thinks is relevant that they didn't ask about, which takes a lot of time.”
Prosecutors were interested in the period between Election Day 2020 and Inauguration Day 2021, Costello said, and he said the "queen for a day" proffer session was broken into two segments to accommodate Giuliani's afternoon radio program, but current and former Trump insiders aren't convinced.
“One day? You don’t know what to make of [it],” said Trump’s former White House attorney Ty Cobb. “Two days though suggests that the DOJ may be considering his value as a witness."
A source familiar with the Trump team's thinking said a good lawyer like Costello would not allow Giuliani to speak to prosecutors for even one day without getting something in return, and the former president's inner circle is wondering whether he shared incriminating evidence against the ex-president.
“I’m sure the pressure is immense,” the source said.
Attorney Joseph Bondy, who represented Giuliani’s ex-associate Lev Parnas in a criminal case related to Trump's extortion scheme against Ukraine, agreed the former mayor would be facing extraordinary pressure to cooperate with prosecutors investigating the twice-impeached former president.
“He is older and more fragile, no longer protected by the Trump cabal, and involved in multiple criminal investigations that, if brought, could each result in his potential conviction and imprisonment,” Bondy said. “Of course, Rudy understands this. The question is really, will he fall on the sword and protect the former president — who, it currently appears, could care less about him — or attempt to cooperate with the special prosecutor and mitigate the potential for conviction and a prison sentence at the age of 79?"
However, Costello insisted the former president had nothing to worry about regarding Giuliani.
"I can tell you point blank, outright, without fear of retribution or correction, there was no quid pro quo," Costello said. "We didn't get anything in return. We were telling the truth and we had nothing to hide because Rudy Giuliani didn't do anything wrong. It’s that simple."
