Rudy on pro-Don rampage
Trump pit bull is barking mad over Mueller
“America's Mayor” has fully become President Trump's pit bull.
Rudy Giuliani's public offensive against special counsel Robert Mueller and his Russia investigation may not be sound legal strategy — but his showmanship could sway the court of public opinion, experts told the Daily News.
“His comments have been disgraceful,” said Sol Wisenberg, a white-collar criminal-defense attorney who was deputy independent counsel under Kenneth Starr during the Whitewater/Monica Lewinsky investigation. “He's a lawyer and an officer of the court.”
Giuliani ramped up his provocative offensive last week, telling Fox News that if the special counsel's investigation is not completed by September, there would be a "very, very serious violation of Justice Department rules.” There is no such rule. The Trump legal team's media blitz reached new heights Friday as Giuliani joined Jay Sekulow, another of the President's lawyers, in guest-hosting conservative commentator Sean Hannity's syndicated radio show.
During their time on air, Giuliani channeled the commander-in-chief in ripping the investigation as “illegitimate,” a “witch hunt” and a “hoax.”
Trump has labeled the investigation into Russia's attempts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election a “witch hunt” and has continuously cast doubt on the Kremlin's involvement. He has publicly berated Attorney General Jeff Sessions for recusing himself from the probe and painted the FBI and Justice Department as hotbeds of political bias.
Giuliani, Sekulow and the rest of Trump's legal team have been negotiating with Mueller for months about a possible interview with the President to determine whether he attempted to obstruct justice.
Trump claims he wants to his clear his name, but his attorneys have advised against an interview.
Mueller, meanwhile, has made no public comment on any subject since being appointed in May 2017.
But his probe has led to charges against four people affiliated with Trump's campaign or administration, 13 Russian nationals, 12 Russian intelligence officers, three Kremlin-linked companies and two others.
“Mueller is a professional and he's not going to be taking to cable news to make his case,” Ryan Williams, a Republican strategist who served as a spokesman for Mitt Romney, told The News. “The Trump team realizes that this is more of a public relations battle for the President than an actual legal defense.”
Further muddying the legal waters around Giuliani is his purported connection to eleventh-hour leaks from the FBI ahead of the election.
Giuliani revealed in June that he was questioned by investigators working for the Justice Department's inspector general's office about his hinting ahead of the 2016 election that a “surprise” was in store that would help Trump defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Two days after his remark, then-FBI Director James Comey announced the bureau was reopening its investigation into Clinton's emails.
Giuliani did not respond to requests for comment.