Rudy to Romania: Back off in fight versus corruption
It’s unusual for a U.S. lawyer to oppose anti-corruption efforts in one of Europe’s most corrupt nations.
It’s even more unusual if that lawyer also happens to represent the U.S. President, whose own State Department has adopted the opposite stance. After Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani (below) sent a letter to the Romanian government recently, asking it to rein in the fight against corruption over fears of “continued damage to the rule of law in Romania, committed under the pretext of law enforcement,” State Department officials appeared puzzled.
“I’m a private citizen,” Giuliani said, responding to a question about contradicting the State Department, which has welcomed the anti-corruption drive.
The problem with this argument is that the former New York City mayor certainly isn’t perceived in Romania as only a private U.S. citizen. In fact, the Trump lawyer’s letter is rapidly becoming a key weapon for Romanian officials who want to weaken the country’s anticorruption authorities.
The leader of Romania’s ruling Social Democratic Party, Liviu Dragnea, referenced Giuliani’s letter, writing that Giuliani’s “moral and professional probity commands respect all over the world.” In his statement, the left-wing politician implied that not following Giuliani’s advice could have repercussions for perceptions of Romania and its position within the “North Atlantic area.”
The Romanian politician’s friendly ties to the North Atlantic region’s most important government, the Trump administration, were on public display last year when Dragnea met with President Trump at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, according to a Facebook post Dragnea published at the time. On Facebook, Dragnea recalled Trump telling him: “We will make it happen! Romania is important for us!”
At that point, Dragnea’s party was already in the middle of a push to repeal some of the tough anti-corruption laws that the country introduced in recent decades -- an effort that has been hampered at times by Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, who leads the National Liberal Party. Dragnea’s enthusiasm about Giuliani’s letter — addressed to Iohannis — might not be entirely unexpected for another reason: Dragnea himself is appealing a prison sentence for abuse of office.
As president of the Romanian Senate, former Romanian Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu would have some leeway to ask for a review of certain trials. So, when Tariceanu called Giuliani’s letter “very useful,” according to Romania’s Mediafax news agency, the comments likely set off alarm bells in European Union capitals and the State Department, which have long encouraged Romania’s fight against corruption.