Giuliani: impeach Trump and US will revolt
DONALD TRUMP and his legal team yesterday hit back at suggestions that he could soon be impeached, with his lawyer saying that the US people would “revolt” if such a move was taken.
Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor and now a legal adviser to Mr Trump, said that it was “inevitable” any attempt at impeachment would fail.
Meanwhile Mr Trump himself claimed that the stock market would “crash” and leave people across the country “very poor” if he was ever forced from office.
He also did not rule out pardoning Paul Manafort, his former campaign manager who was found guilty of bank and tax fraud just three days ago and now faces up to 80 years in jail.
The reaction came as details emerged about “hush money” payments made to two women who claimed affairs with Mr Trump before the 2016 election.
David Pecker, the chief executive of the firm behind the National Enquirer, agreed to talk to prosecutors about the payments in return for immunity, The
Wall Street Journal reported. National Enquirer figures have been accused of being involved in both payments. Mr Pecker, a long-time friend of Mr Trump, reportedly shared details about what the president knew of the deals.
US headlines continued to be dominated by a claim from Michael Cohen, the president’s former lawyer, that Mr Trump ordered him to make the deals.
Cohen admitted breaking campaign finance laws over payments to porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen Mcdougal, in an attempt to “influence” the election. Mr Trump admitted the payments came from him but denied breaking any laws, insisting he did not use campaign funds.
By implicating Mr Trump as a coconspirator in a crime, Cohen triggered fresh debate about impeachment – a process in which US congressmen vote on removing a sitting president.
Mr Trump told Fox News yesterday: “I don’t know how you can impeach somebody who’s done a great job. If I ever got impeached I think the market would crash. I think everybody would be very poor.”
Mr Giuliani, talking to Sky News, was equally dismissive, painting Cohen as a liar and Mr Trump as having little to answer. Asked if it was “inevitable” Mr Trump would be impeached, he responded: “Hardly. I think it’s inevitable that he won’t. President Trump has been completely cleared. You could only impeach him for political reasons and the American people would revolt against that.”
Impeachment is still a way off. Both bodies that make up the US Congress are held by the Republicans – Mr Trump’s party – and few senior congressmen publicly back such a move.