Trump wanted Giuliani to be AG — but Rudy said no because he was holding out for Secretary of State: secret memos
On Monday, BuzzFeed News released a cache of never-before-seen secret memos written as part of former special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into links between President Donald Trump's campaign team and the Russian government.
One of the new revelations to be found in the documents, offered by Paul Manafort associate Rick Gates, is that after former Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation, some of Trump's associates privately raged that if Trump had only appointed Rudy Giuliani to the position, he would have taken care of everything.
Additionally, the memos alleged that Giuliani had in fact been Trump's first choice for Attorney General, but he declined because he was hoping to be put in charge of the State Department.
"Prior to Sessions' recusal, Gates had not had conversations with anyone about recusal issues," stated the memo. "After the recusal, he recalled conversations where people offered their opinion that had Rudy Giuliani been Attorney General, he would not have recused himself. Gates knew Giuliani had been the first choice for Attorney General, but turned it down because he wanted to be Secretary of State instead."
Giuliani's ambitions to be Secretary of State were heavily reported during the Trump transition in 2016. He ultimately withdrew his name from consideration for that role as well, saying, “I thought I could play a better role being on the outside and continuing to be his close friend and adviser."