If you’re the former President of the United States who is now under investigation for a series of crimes, from fraud to insurrection, you might want to think twice about having Rudy Giuliani on your side. Put aside the many, many, many ways the former New York City Mayor has embarrassed himself over the past several years — the Four Seasons Total Landscaping debacle, his cameo in Borat 2, his polarizing appearance on The Masked Singer, that time he might have (most definitely) farted during a hearing, and his alleged insistence that Donald Trump simply declare victory on Election Night 2020, to name just a few — and what you’re left with is the shell of the man who was once named TIME’s Person of the Year.
Giuliani’s unpredictable nature and desperate desire to find his way back into the spotlight makes him a particular danger to Trump at the moment, as Rudy himself proved over the weekend during an episode of his radio show, Uncovering the Truth with Rudy Giuliani & Dr. Maria Ryan. (Yes, you can laugh at the title.)
It’s no secret to anyone that one of the problems dogging the 45th president right now (as well as the 46th) is the discovery of several classified documents in unsecured locations around the country, including at his Palm Beach golf club. While Trump had rotated through a number of different excuses, including claiming — with a straight face — that he had the power to declassify documents with his mind, Rudy isn’t doing much to help his old pal Donald. Especially when he claims that Trump regularly encouraged him to take classified documents home with him, as Insider reported.
During Sunday’s show, Giuliani told a story about how he was in Mar-a-Lago with Trump shortly after he was elected president “vetting” a bunch of rich people by reviewing (of all things) their tax returns.
“When I was his lawyer, I mean, there was a period of time I was there like, uh, 10 straight days,” Rudy explained of his work with the then-president. “I didn’t take, listen to this, this is my training on ‘top secret:’ I didn’t take them out of Mar-a-Lago.” Which is when his story seemed to sort of break down and become confusing:
“[Trump] told me, ‘Oh, take them home with you.’ I’m not going to take Wilbur Ross’ tax returns home with me. I could misplace them!
I — you know, I never, ever, ever, ever, ever, knowingly, and I never got caught — but I don’t remember ever taking a doc.”
Though Rudy went on to explain that he kept all of these “top secret” documents in a safe that was at his desk in Mar-a-Lago, the phrases “I never, ever, ever, ever, ever, knowingly,” “I never got caught,” and “I don’t remember ever taking a doc” don’t really seem to add up.
Insider reached out to both Giuliani and a spokesperson for Trump to clarify Rudy’s comments, but did not receive a response.
(Via Insider)