Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Giuliani quits law firm, cites ‘full-time’ Trump work
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, has parted ways with his law firm, citing the “pressing demands” of representing Trump in the special counsel’s probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Giuliani, whose recent media blitz on behalf of Trump stirred controversy, took a leave of absence from Greenberg Traurig last month. But Thursday, the firm announced Giuliani’s resignation, effective the day before.
The announcement followed several interviews in which Giuliani described a settlement reached by a Trump lawyer with a porn actress to keep her silent about an alleged affair as a standard arrangement for lawyers trying to protect high-profile clients.
In a brief interview Thursday, Giuliani said there was no acrimony inside the firm regarding his work for Trump, saying that “half the firm is for him, maybe half against —fifty-fifty. It wasn’t about that; it was about giving my full attention to the president.”
“This is a full-time job working for the president, and we’ve got to figure this out and get this over with,” he said.
In a statement, Richard Rosenbaum, executive chairman of Greenberg Traurig, said that Giuliani originally intended to “play a limited role, for a short period of time” representing Trump. “After recognizing that this work is all-consuming and is lasting longer than initially anticipated, Rudy has determined it is best for him to resign from the firm,” Rosenbaum said.
Giuliani’s decision, first reported by The New York Times, comes soon after he has not only addressed a probe by special counsel Robert Mueller but also disclosed that Trump had reimbursed his longtime lawyer Michael Cohen for a $130,000 payout to Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about an alleged sexual encounter.
Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence said it’s time for Mueller to end his probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
“In the interests of the country, I think it’s time to wrap it up.” Pence told NBC News.
Pence, when pressed on the news about millions of dollars in payments from companies to Cohen, said that’s a “private matter” and “something I don’t have any knowledge about.”