Rudy Giuliani: Trump lawyer immediately contradicts himself after claiming he would not cooperate with impeachment investigation

Mr Giuliani claims the State Department was aware of his efforts in Ukraine, even as reports indicate he acted independent of the US government

Donald Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani said he would not cooperate with House Democrat impeachment enquiries, before immediately contradicting himself when pressed.

Mr Giuliani was being interviewed on ABC News when he said that he would not cooperate with investigations in the House Intelligence Committee while representative Adam Schiff was in charge.

“I wouldn’t cooperate with Adam Schiff,” he said. “I think he should be removed. If they remove Adam Schiff and put a neutral person in, a Democrat who hasn’t expressed an opinion — if I had a judge in the case and announced he was going to impeach, wouldn’t I move to recuse that judge.”

George Stephanopoulos, the host of the programme, pressed him: “You’re not going to cooperate?”

“I didn’t say that,” Mr Giuliani shot back. “I said I would consider it.”

Mr Giuliani then went on to say that he would only testify if Mr Trump — his client — wanted him to.

Mr Trump's personal lawyer has found himself at the centre of the scandal that led Democrats last week to begin an official impeachment inquiry into the president.

That scandal stems from a whistleblower complaint alleging that President Donald Trump asked the Ukrainian government to investigate political rival Joe Biden and suggested US aid to the country would be impacted.

Mr Giuliani was one of the individuals, alongside US Attorney General William Barr, named by the president as a point of contact for Ukrainian officials.

While it has been reported that Mr Giuliani and two other lawyers acted independently of the US government, he claimed on Sunday that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was aware of his efforts in Ukraine.