Rudy Giuliani Insists He Won't Comply with Congressional Subpoena: 'We'll See What Happens'
Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, said on Tuesday that he will not comply with a congressional subpoena in the current impeachment inquiry against the president.
The former New York City mayor told ABC News that if House Democrats enforce the subpoena, “then we will see what happens.”
Giuliani’s attorney, Jon Sale, explained his client’s decision not to cooperate in a letter he sent to the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, according to Fox News.
“The subpoena is overbroad, unduly burdensome, and seeks documents beyond the scope of legitimate inquiry,” Sale wrote. “Moreover, documents sought in the subpoena are protected by attorney-client, attorney work-product, and executive privileges.”
Sale added that the impeachment inquiry is “unconstitutional, baseless, and illegitimate.”
Tuesday was the deadline for Giuliani to cooperate with the subpoena. He is no longer retaining the services of Sale, telling Fox News he will not need an attorney unless Congress seeks to enforce the subpoena.
The Democratic chairmen of three House committees sent a subpoena to Giuliani in September.
Reps. Adam Schiff of the Intelligence Committee, Jerrold Nadler of the Judiciary Committee and Elijah Cummings of the Oversight Committee alleged that Giuliani had “admitted on national television that, while serving as the president’s personal attorney, he asked the government of Ukraine to target former Vice President Joe Biden.”
During a Sept. 19 appearance on CNN’s “Cuomo Prime Time,” Giuliani appeared to contradict himself on the question of whether he had asked Ukraine to investigate Biden.
“Did you ask the Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden?” host Chris Cuomo asked.
“No, actually I didn’t,” Giuliani replied.
But when asked the same question by Cuomo just seconds later, Giuliani responded in the affirmative.
“So you did ask Ukraine to look into Joe Biden?” Cuomo asked.
“Of course I did!” Giuliani said.
The subpoena from Schiff, Nadler and Cummings, however, charged the president’s lawyer with more than just “asking” Ukraine.
Instead, the chairmen wrote that “a growing public record indicates that the President, his agent Rudy Giuliani, and others appear to have pressed the Ukrainian government to pursue two politically-motivated investigations.”
“Your failure or refusal to comply with the subpoena, including at the direction or behest of the President or the White House, shall constitute evidence of obstruction of the House’s impeachment inquiry and may be used as an adverse inference against you and the President.”
Giuliani has already said that he will not testify before the Intelligence Committee as long as Schiff remains its chairman.
“I wouldn’t testify in front of that committee until there is a vote of Congress and [Schiff] is removed,” Giuliani said.
“Let them hold me in contempt. We’ll go to court. We’ll challenge the contempt.”
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