Rudy Giuliani is not shy, that much is clear.
The rest of the facts, however, are increasingly difficult to parse. Barely two hours after NBC News reported that federal investigators had wiretapped the phone of Michael Cohen, President Trump's personal attorney, Giuliani told The Daily Beast that he doesn't think Cohen's phone lines were actually ever compromised. "Us lawyers have talked about it, we don't believe it's true," Giuliani said.
Giuliani recently joined the team of lawyers representing Trump in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's ongoing investigation into Russian election interference. He is not working within the White House but is rather part of Trump's team of outside counsel.
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As the latest stop on his media tour, the former New York City mayor explained to the Beast that NBC News' report couldn't be true because "it would be totally illegal. You can't wiretap a lawyer, you certainly can't wiretap his client who's not involved in the investigation. No one has suggested that Trump was involved in that investigation. So they're going to wiretap the lawyer, his client, and his client the president of the United States? I don't think so."
In order to wiretap Cohen, federal investigators would have to have convincing evidence that there is a possibility of an ongoing crime; wiretaps additionally all require approval from a federal judge. Cohen is thought to be under investigation for possible bank fraud, wire fraud, and campaign finance violations.
Late Wednesday night on Fox News, Giuliani revealed that Trump repaid Cohen for a $130,000 payment the lawyer facilitated to former adult film actress Stormy Daniels — a direct contradiction of previous statements from the White House. Apparently while Giuliani was speaking to the Beast, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was facing fierce questions from reporters about his disclosure.
Read more from Giuliani's interview with The Daily Beast here, or read more about Giuliani's bombshell honesty here at The Week.
