Rudy Giuliani says ‘the American people would revolt’ if Donald Trump is impeached

Donald Trump's lawyer says there is 'no reason' to impeach the president

Chris Riotta
New York
Thursday 23 August 2018 20:41 BST
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Rudy Giuliani: The American people 'would revolt' if Trump was impeached

Rudy Giuliani has predicted that the American people would stand by Donald Trump in the event of his impeachment, after the president’s former associates officially became convicted felons this week.

Mr Giuliani referred to Michael Cohen as “a liar” in an interview with Sky News, after the president’s former personal lawyer pleaded guilty to eight counts of fraud and campaign finance violations. The former New York City mayor, who now serves as Mr Trump’s personal legal counsel, also claimed there was “no reason” for impeachment, echoing the White House’s defence for the president.

“You could only impeach him for political reasons,” Mr Giuliani said on Thursday. “The American people would revolt against that”.

The topic of impeachment has become a popular line of questioning this week for those who circle the president’s orbit.

Numerous Democratic lawmakers have been asked in recent days whether they would support impeaching Mr Trump after explosive revelations surrounding his 2016 campaign arrived via courthouses in New York and Virginia.

Paul Manafort, the president’s former campaign chairman, was simultaneously charged with eight counts of bank and tax fraud on Tuesday afternoon. His guilty verdict arrived within minutes of news breaking about Cohen’s plea deal with federal prosecutors, causing the news cycle to spin around the president’s alleged involvement in criminal activity.

Meanwhile, Cohen’s lawyer has said it is “absolutely clear that Donald Trump committed a felony”, suggesting they would be presenting evidence that directly implicates the president in several payments made to his alleged mistresses throughout the 2016 campaign.

Asked whether he felt it was “inevitable” that Mr Trump would be impeached following the news, Mr Giuliani responded, “Hardly. I think it’s inevitable that he won’t. President Trump is completely cleared.”

“You have this Cohen guy, he doesn’t know anything about Russian collusion, he doesn’t know anything about obstruction, he’s a massive liar,” he continued. “If anything it’s turned out very much in the president’s favour”.

The president also spoke out against his own impeachment this week, telling Fox News: “If I ever got impeached, I think the market would crash. I think everybody would be very poor. Because without this thinking [points to head] you would see, you would see numbers that you wouldn’t believe in reverse.”

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