Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani lashed out at Republican impeachment counsel Steve Castor over his questions to European Union Ambassador Gordon Sondland as Republican lawmakers signaled that they may point the finger at the former New York City mayor to help President Donald Trump. Sondland testified Wednesday that he and other administration officials were unhappy that Trump directed them to work with Giuliani to pressure Ukraine into investigating former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, and said Giuliani pushed for what Sondland described as a “quid pro quo.”Advertisement: Tweeting on Wednesday, Giuliani insisted that Sondland’s testimony under oath was speculative, and declared “no quid pro quo!” He also took issue with a question posed by Castor, who asked Sondland during the hearing if he knew “that Rudy Giuliani has private business interests in Ukraine.” “Republican lawyer doesn’t do his own research and preparation, and is instead picking up Democrat lies, shame,” Giuliani tweeted. “Allow me to inform him: I have NO financial interests in Ukraine, NONE! I would appreciate his apology.”Advertisement: Castor appeared to be referring to reports that federal prosecutors in New York are investigating whether Giuliani stood to personally profit from a Ukrainian energy firm pushed by associates Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman. Parnas and Fruman, who were later indicted on charges that they illegally funneled foreign money into U.S. elections, also helped Giuliani search for incriminating information on former Vice President Joe Biden in Ukraine. Castor mentioned that Giuliani was involved with “Messrs. Parnas and Fruman” in their business ventures. He also noted that former special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker testified the previous day that Giuliani “was doing his own communications,” suggesting that he was trying to distance President Trump from his attorney. This line of questioning is notable because it signals that the Republican strategy may shift to one of “blame Rudy” following Sondland’s damning testimony.Advertisement: “Mr. Giuliani’s requests were a quid pro quo for arranging a White House visit for President Zelensky. Mr. Giuliani demanded that Ukraine make a public statement announcing investigations of the 2016 election/DNC server and Burisma. Mr. Giuliani was expressing the desires of the President of the United States, and we knew that these investigations were important to the President,” Sondland testified, referring to investigations Giuliani wanted into the Bidens and a debunked conspiracy theory that Ukraine meddled in the 2016 election. Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., told reporters outside of the hearing room that he has “some questions about what Mr. Giuliani was doing.”Advertisement: Lamborn suggested that if Giuliani was "off on his own mission doing things that people didn't know about, kind of like a loose cannon, then that's a Rudy Giuliani thing, that's not a President Trump thing." Top House Republi
Are Republicans preparing to cut Rudy Giuliani loose to save Trump?
Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani lashed out at Republican impeachment counsel Steve Castor over his questions to European Union Ambassador Gordon Sondland as Republican lawmakers signaled that they may point the finger at the former New York City mayor to help President Donald Trump. Sondland testified Wednesday that he and other administration officials were unhappy that Trump directed them to work with Giuliani to pressure Ukraine into investigating former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, and said Giuliani pushed for what Sondland described as a “quid pro quo.”Advertisement: Tweeting on Wednesday, Giuliani insisted that Sondland’s testimony under oath was speculative, and declared “no quid pro quo!” He also took issue with a question posed by Castor, who asked Sondland during the hearing if he knew “that Rudy Giuliani has private business interests in Ukraine.” “Republican lawyer doesn’t do his own research and preparation, and is instead picking up Democrat lies, shame,” Giuliani tweeted. “Allow me to inform him: I have NO financial interests in Ukraine, NONE! I would appreciate his apology.”Advertisement: Castor appeared to be referring to reports that federal prosecutors in New York are investigating whether Giuliani stood to personally profit from a Ukrainian energy firm pushed by associates Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman. Parnas and Fruman, who were later indicted on charges that they illegally funneled foreign money into U.S. elections, also helped Giuliani search for incriminating information on former Vice President Joe Biden in Ukraine. Castor mentioned that Giuliani was involved with “Messrs. Parnas and Fruman” in their business ventures. He also noted that former special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker testified the previous day that Giuliani “was doing his own communications,” suggesting that he was trying to distance President Trump from his attorney. This line of questioning is notable because it signals that the Republican strategy may shift to one of “blame Rudy” following Sondland’s damning testimony.Advertisement: “Mr. Giuliani’s requests were a quid pro quo for arranging a White House visit for President Zelensky. Mr. Giuliani demanded that Ukraine make a public statement announcing investigations of the 2016 election/DNC server and Burisma. Mr. Giuliani was expressing the desires of the President of the United States, and we knew that these investigations were important to the President,” Sondland testified, referring to investigations Giuliani wanted into the Bidens and a debunked conspiracy theory that Ukraine meddled in the 2016 election. Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., told reporters outside of the hearing room that he has “some questions about what Mr. Giuliani was doing.”Advertisement: Lamborn suggested that if Giuliani was "off on his own mission doing things that people didn't know about, kind of like a loose cannon, then that's a Rudy Giuliani thing, that's not a President Trump thing." Top House Republi
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