Trump lawyer Giuliani will not cooperate in U.S. House impeachment inquiry

[webfact]

Trump lawyer Giuliani will not cooperate in U.S. House impeachment inquiry

By Jonathan Landay and Karen Freifeld

 

George Kent, deputy assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasian Affairs, arrives to testify at a closed-door deposition as part of the Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives impeachment inquiry into U.S. President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., October 15, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani will not cooperate with a U.S. House of Representatives impeachment inquiry that is scrutinizing his efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate a Trump political rival, Giuliani's lawyer said on Tuesday.

 

Giuliani's lawyer, Jon Sale, told a lawyer for the three Democratic-led House committees leading the inquiry that the former New York mayor would refuse to comply with a subpoena seeking documents relating to his activities concerning Ukraine.

 

"This appears to be an unconstitutional, baseless, and illegitimate 'impeachment inquiry,'" Sale wrote, echoing language the White House used last week in saying it would not cooperate with the inquiry that threatens Trump's presidency.

 

The move represented the latest effort by Trump and those close to him to refuse any cooperation with the inquiry.

 

Despite that, several U.S. officials involved in the matter who received subpoenas from the three committees have testified. Even as Giuliani refused to comply, lawmakers were hearing closed-door testimony from a senior U.S. diplomat, George Kent.

 

President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani on Tuesday said he would not comply with a subpoena issued by U.S. House of Representatives Democrats seeking documents as part of their impeachment inquiry into the president. Jonah Green reports.

 

House Democrats are focusing on Trump's request to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a July 25 phone call to look into unsubstantiated allegations about Joe Biden, the former vice president and a leading contender to become the Democratic nominee to run against Republican Trump in the November 2020 U.S. presidential election.

 

Kent, who has spent much of his career fighting corruption in Ukraine and elsewhere, is the second career diplomat to testify as part of the probe after being subpoenaed. The White House and State Department had ordered them not to appear.

 

It was unclear what Kent, a deputy assistant secretary of state responsible for U.S. policy toward six former Soviet republics including Ukraine, was telling lawmakers.

 

According to the New York Times, Kent raised concerns with colleagues as far back as March about Giuliani pressuring Ukraine to pursue investigations into Trump's political rivals.

 

Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, on Friday accused the Trump administration in testimony of recalling her in May based on false claims. [nL2N26W0IX]

 

Fiona Hill, Trump's former Russia adviser, told lawmakers on Monday that she and her then-boss, former national security adviser John Bolton, were alarmed this summer by efforts to force Ukraine to investigate Biden and other rivals and advised her to notify a National Security Council lawyer, according to a source familiar with her testimony. [nL2N26Z07U]

 

Hill told lawmakers that Bolton characterized Giuliani as "a hand grenade who is going to blow everybody up," according to two sources familiar with her testimony. A Bolton spokeswoman said he would have no comment on the testimony.

 

Giuliani had faced a Tuesday deadline to produce the requested documents. Sale said the documents were protected by both attorney-client privilege, a legal principle in which certain confidential communications between a lawyer and client are kept secret, and executive privilege, a legal doctrine under which a president can keep certain information from other branches of government.

 

Sale also said the request was "overbroad, unduly burdensome, and seeks documents beyond the scope of legitimate inquiry."

 

Democratic Representative Jackie Speier, a member of the House Intelligence and Oversight committees, told MSNBC that House Democrats would likely move to hold Giuliani in contempt if he does not cooperate.

 

Gordon Sondland, a Trump political donor appointed as the U.S. ambassador to the European Union who was involved in the Ukraine discussions, is due to testify later in the week in response to a congressional subpoena.

 

HUNTER BIDEN DENIES WRONGDOING

The investigation is focused on the July call in which Trump pressed Zelenskiy to have Ukraine officials investigate Biden and his businessman son, Hunter Biden, who had been on the board of a Ukrainian energy company.

 

Hunter Biden, 49, denied doing anything improper https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-whistleblower-biden/hunter-biden-defends-overseas-work-in-interview-but-expresses-regret-idUSKBN1WU1PS in past work for the company but acknowledged he had benefited professionally from his father's political career in an interview with ABC News that aired on Tuesday. [nL2N2700U3]

 

Joe Biden has denied Trump's allegations of corruption.

 

Democrats have accused Trump of pressuring a vulnerable U.S. ally to dig up dirt on Biden after withholding $391 million in U.S. security aid intended to help combat Russian-backed separatists in the eastern part of Ukraine. Zelenskiy agreed to investigate. Trump eventually allowed the aid.

 

Trump has denied wrongdoing and defended his request to Zelenskiy during the phone call, which prompted a formal whistleblower complaint by an individual within the U.S. intelligence community.

 

If the Democratic-controlled House votes to approve articles of impeachment - formal charges - the Republican-controlled Senate would then hold a trial on whether to remove the president from office.

 

According to State Department emails seen by Reuters, diplomat Kent told colleagues that Yovanovitch had become the target of a "classic disinformation operation." Yovanovitch on Friday denied Giuliani's allegations that she provided a "do not prosecute list" to Ukrainian officials to protect Biden and others.

 

"One key sign of it being fake is that most of the names are misspelled in English - we would never spell most that way," Kent said in the email to colleagues.

 

(Reporting by Arshad Mohammed, Jonathan Landay, Mark Hosenball, Patricia Zengerle, Makini Brice and Susan Heavey; Writing by Richard Cowan and Andy Sullivan; Editing by Scott Malone, Grant McCool and Will Dunham)

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-10-16

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[Laza 45]

...lock him up!  ????

[TopDeadSenter]

Americans remember the incredible strength Mr Giuliani showed after 9/11 and his heroic efforts to calm and unite the nation after the appalling terrorism spectacular. Sick to see them treating him like this. I think this hounding and bullying nonsense will backfire. You can only cry wolf once, by the 15th time nobody(other than apparently Jeff Zucker) is paying any attention.

[bendejo]

Way to go, Juli!  Let the evidence speak for itself.

But I do feel deprived of not getting to see him talk himself into a pretzel before the Senate.

 

 

[stevenl]

13 minutes ago, TopDeadSenter said:

Americans remember the incredible strength Mr Giuliani showed after 9/11 and his heroic efforts to calm and unite the nation after the appalling terrorism spectacular. Sick to see them treating him like this. I think this hounding and bullying nonsense will backfire. You can only cry wolf once, by the 15th time nobody(other than apparently Jeff Zucker) is paying any attention.

Yes. He once was a hero, how could he have sunk so low.

[Cory1848]

28 minutes ago, TopDeadSenter said:

Americans remember the incredible strength Mr Giuliani showed after 9/11 and his heroic efforts to calm and unite the nation after the appalling terrorism spectacular. Sick to see them treating him like this. I think this hounding and bullying nonsense will backfire. You can only cry wolf once, by the 15th time nobody(other than apparently Jeff Zucker) is paying any attention.

Americans will remember Giuliani as a hysterical sycophant.

[quandow]

39 minutes ago, TopDeadSenter said:

Americans remember the incredible strength Mr Giuliani showed after 9/11 and his heroic efforts to calm and unite the nation after the appalling terrorism spectacular. Sick to see them treating him like this. I think this hounding and bullying nonsense will backfire. You can only cry wolf once, by the 15th time nobody(other than apparently Jeff Zucker) is paying any attention.

So, laws should be applied selectively based on their heroic past? William Barr locked up Chelsea Manning for ignoring a subpoena, why should Rudy be above the law? You don't block a person's testimony that can exonerate you.

 

 

[spidermike007]

How this guy has gone from being a hero, to being one of the most mocked men, and one of the least competent attorneys in the world is quite an astonishing fall from grace. 

 

Lesson number one. If Trump offers you a job, run for the hills! It is only a matter of time before Rambling Rudy gets thrown under the bus. Let us hope he gets disbarred too. Letting him practice law at this stage, is like letting a 99 year old drive in Thailand. 

[Tug]

1 hour ago, TopDeadSenter said:

Americans remember the incredible strength Mr Giuliani showed after 9/11 and his heroic efforts to calm and unite the nation after the appalling terrorism spectacular. Sick to see them treating him like this. I think this hounding and bullying nonsense will backfire. You can only cry wolf once, by the 15th time nobody(other than apparently Jeff Zucker) is paying any attention.

You are a funney funney guy Rudy of all people should respect the law not so anymore. he should be held in contempt jailed untle ready to testify under oath and if he lies jailed again just like any American 

[MickGC]

Why is George Kent bringing his rain gauge to the inquiry?

[quandow]

Breaking news: This attorney of Rudy's, Jon Sale, just quit. Rudy's reply? "I don't need a lawyer."

[Mitkof Island]

Anyone not willing to answer questions just give the a mandatory time in a small cell until they do.

[sfokevin]

2 hours ago, TopDeadSenter said:

Americans remember the incredible strength Mr Giuliani showed after 9/11...

This is how New York and history will remember Giuliani...

 

[Chomper Higgot]

3 hours ago, TopDeadSenter said:

Americans remember the incredible strength Mr Giuliani showed after 9/11 and his heroic efforts to calm and unite the nation after the appalling terrorism spectacular. Sick to see them treating him like this. I think this hounding and bullying nonsense will backfire. You can only cry wolf once, by the 15th time nobody(other than apparently Jeff Zucker) is paying any attention.

In matters of criminality, nobody is better than their last crime.

 

There’s a Grand Jury sitting in examination of Giuliani’s behavior, we’ll hear soon enough what it decides.

 

 

[IAMHERE]

Not sure a House full of crooks, liers, and Political Correctness should be given so much power. 

[Sujo]

23 minutes ago, IAMHERE said:

Not sure a House full of crooks, liers, and Political Correctness should be given so much power. 

Nor a whitehouse.

[atyclb]

more fuel for the tvf soap opera

[Rimmer]

Conspiracy troll post removed

[atyclb]

4 hours ago, TopDeadSenter said:

Americans remember the incredible strength Mr Giuliani showed after 9/11 and his heroic efforts to calm and unite the nation after the appalling terrorism spectacular. Sick to see them treating him like this. I think this hounding and bullying nonsense will backfire. You can only cry wolf once, by the 15th time nobody(other than apparently Jeff Zucker) is paying any attention.

https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/cq/2007/07/12/cq_3065.html?mcubz=0

"The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) released a video Wednesday evening portraying what the union characterizes as leadership “failures” allegedly committed by Giuliani before, during and after the attack that claimed the lives of 343 firefighters."

 

 

 

[Jingthing]

4 hours ago, TopDeadSenter said:

Americans remember the incredible strength Mr Giuliani showed after 9/11 and his heroic efforts to calm and unite the nation after the appalling terrorism spectacular. Sick to see them treating him like this. I think this hounding and bullying nonsense will backfire. You can only cry wolf once, by the 15th time nobody(other than apparently Jeff Zucker) is paying any attention.

Irrelevant. 

[Jingthing]

52 minutes ago, IAMHERE said:

Not sure a House full of crooks, liers, and Political Correctness should be given so much power. 

It's the house regardless of your slurs. It has coequal powers derived from the constitution. If you want to change the constitution try to amend it.

[Eric Loh]

1 hour ago, IAMHERE said:

Not sure a House full of crooks, liers, and Political Correctness should be given so much power. 

It has since improved after the Dems won the house. 

[thaibeachlovers]

You go, Giuliani! You are the Man. Good to see someone standing up against the circus.

 

[Basil B]

Comes to something when Lawyers need lawyers...

[sfokevin]

1 minute ago, Basil B said:

Comes to something when Lawyers need lawyers...

It gets even worse when one fires ones lawyers and says he can defend himself... 

[Baerboxer]

1 hour ago, IAMHERE said:

Not sure a House full of crooks, liers, and Political Correctness should be given so much power. 

 

Just think, a Democrat POTUS, and Democrats controlling both houses. The Show Trials can then really begin in earnest!

[thaibeachlovers]

9 minutes ago, Baerboxer said:

 

Just think, a Democrat POTUS, and Democrats controlling both houses. The Show Trials can then really begin in earnest!

It'll be like McCarthyism all over again.

 

[Jingthing]

21 minutes ago, Baerboxer said:

 

Just think, a Democrat POTUS, and Democrats controlling both houses. The Show Trials can then really begin in earnest!

So do you think it's OK to ignore subpoenas?  That some people are above the law?

[GroveHillWanderer]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

"This appears to be an unconstitutional, baseless, and illegitimate 'impeachment inquiry,'" Sale wrote, echoing language the White House used last week in saying it would not cooperate with the inquiry that threatens Trump's presidency."

In what alternate universe is this somehow an unconstitutional impeachment inquiry?

 

It's literally stated in the first Article of the Constitution that:

 

Quote

The House of Representatives ... shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.

The Constitution does not impose any preconditions as to how impeachment proceedings are to be initiated. 

[Thomas J]

Quote

Ukraine president says there was no ‘blackmail’ in Trump phone conversation

This says everything you need to know.  What prosecutor would even investigate when the subject of the fictional coercion even states that there was no quid pro quo, no blackmail, and he felt no pressure.  


https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2019-10-10/ukraine-zelensky-trump-impeachment