Mar-a-Lago has underground tunnels, new book on Giuliani's 'tragic fall' discloses

Depressed after his 2008 presidential flop, Rudy Giuliani and his third wife, Judith Giuliani, secretly moved into a bungalow across from Mar-a-Lago, former President Donald Trump's club in Palm Beach, Florida, where Giuliani recovered from his political humiliation and started to drink heavily, according to a new book by Andrew Kirtzman. The bungalow was connected to Mar-a-Lago by a tunnel underneath South Ocean Boulevard, Kirtzman writes, according to The Guardian, which read an advance copy.
The tunnel is "one of many little-known passages and rooms beneath the expansive resort," The Guardian reports. "The secret route allowed the couple to come and go from Trump's home without the media knowing."
Bloomberg's Jason Leopold notes that the tunnels underneath Mar-a-Lago are actually part of the public record — though the Secret Service presumably locked them down after Trump was elected president.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
As Kirtzman's book, Giuliani: The Rise and Tragic Fall of America's Mayor, nears its September publication, The Guardian reports, "underground rooms at Mar-a-Lago are in the news, after the FBI searched some for classified material taken from the White House at the end of Trump's four years as president."
But Kirtzman's book also offers some insights into how Giuliani emerged as one of Trump's most stalwart defenders in his later presidency. Trump and Giuliani had known each other for decades, but in 2008, when Giuliani was at a low point and frequently drinking to cope with depression, Judith Giuliani told Kirtzman, "we moved into Mar-a-Lago and Donald kept our secret," and the Trumps "kept a protective eye" on Rudy. Judith Giuliani filed for divorce in 2018.
Rudy Giuliani told The New York Times in 2018 that he "spent a month at Mar-a-Lago, relaxing," after flaming out of the 2008 Republican primaries, but "he has not otherwise discussed the period," The Guardian reports.
Giuliani and Trump had "a compelling kinship," as "two New York colossuses, dinosaurs from another time and place," Kirtzman writes. "What's clear is the two men's friendship survived when a hundred other Trump relationships died away like so many marriages of convenience. Giuliani would never turn his back on Trump, much to his detriment." Read more at The Guardian.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Warfare: an 'honest' account of brutal engagement in Iraq
The Week Recommends Alex Garland's film focuses on the 'overwhelming, sensory journey' of conflict
By The Week UK Published
-
Is This Working?: a 'strangely gripping' look at British working life
The Week Recommends Author Charlie Colenutt weaves an 'utterly fascinating and thoroughly depressing' history of jobs
By The Week UK Published
-
What's behind Russia's biggest conscription drive in years?
Today's Big Question Putin calls up 160,000 men, sending a threatening message to Ukraine and Baltic states
By Genevieve Bates Published
-
Sen. Booker's 25-hour speech beats Thurmond
Speed Read He spoke for the longest time in recorded Senate history, protesting the Trump administration's policies
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Bondi seeks death penalty for Luigi Mangione
Speed Read Mangione was charged with fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last year
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Democrats win costly Wisconsin court seat
Speed Read Democrats prevailed in an election for the Wisconsin Supreme Court despite Elon Musk's robust financial support of the Republican candidate
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Detentions and hostile treatment: is it safe to visit the US?
The Explainer Spate of interrogations and deportations at US border sparking decline in overseas visitors
By The Week UK Published
-
Why are student loan borrowers falling behind on payments?
Today's Big Question Delinquencies surge as the Trump administration upends the program
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
WHCA rejects White House press seating grab
Speed Read The White House Correspondents' Association objected to the Trump administration's bid to control where journalists sit during press briefings
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump sends more migrants to El Salvador jail
Speed Read Another 17 Venezuelan alleged gang members have been deported to a notorious prison
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Law firms: Caving to White House pressure
Feature Trump targets major law firms tied to his past investigations
By The Week US Published