After a supposed vacation which kept him away from the spotlight for weeks, Rudy Guiliani is back, and in fine form. Michael Avenatti speculated that Guiliani’s disappearance had more to do with his PR screw-ups than an alleged vacation and stated, “I think that Trump has realized that Rudy is a disaster waiting to happen with every appearance. He has been an absolute train wreck as Trump’s lawyer.”
Well, Rudy is back. And it’s a train wreck. On Friday, Giuliani told the New York Times that his client President Trump will agree to be interviewed in the Russia probe only if special counsel Robert Mueller can show “evidence that Mr. Trump committed a crime and that his testimony is essential to completing the investigation.”
In essence, give us the evidence of a crime, and then we’ll talk.
It is interesting since now Guiliani and Trump’s lawyers have clearly shifted gears by declaring that Trump will only talk if they have enough evidence. They are being openly combative instead of cooperative, as they have said they would be all along. According to the Times, the lawyers also want evidence that Mueller “exhausted every other investigative measure before asking Donald Trump to answer questions, and that he is the only person who could provide them with the information they are seeking.”
They are also stating that the chances that Trump would be voluntarily questioned were growing increasingly unlikely.
Could this be because they feel backed into a corner, coupled with Guiliani’s inability to read the room, resulting in a PR nightmare?
Train-wreck. Check.
