On Sunday, Rudy Giuliani said talks for a Trump Tower project in Moscow were held as late as October or November 2016. On Monday, he distanced himself from those comments, saying President Trump doesn't recall whether discussions went on through the election.
On Meet the Press Sunday, Giuliani, one of Trump's lawyers, said the president remembered the talks maybe lasting "up to as far as October, November [2016]." That story shifted on Monday, when he told CNN that because no records were kept of the discussions, no one knows when they ended. Trump, he added, saw the project as a "minor matter." Trump's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, was in charge of the Moscow project, and in November, he pleaded guilty to lying about how long he was in negotiations over the deal; he originally said discussions ended in January 2016, but later said they went through June 2016.
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.
-
Mitch McConnell won't seek reelectionSpeed Read The longest-serving Senate party leader is retiring
-
Trump reportedly wants to take over US Postal ServiceSpeed Read President Trump is making plans to disband the leadership of USPS and absorb the agency into his administration
-
Trump seeks to end New York's congestion pricingSpeed Read The MTA quickly filed a lawsuit to stop the move
-
Trump officials try to reverse DOGE-led firingsSpeed Read Mass firings by Elon Musk's team have included employees working on the H5N1 bird flu epidemic and US nuclear weapons programs
-
Trump blames Ukraine for war after US-Russia talksSpeed Read The US and Russia have agreed to work together on ending the Ukraine war — but President Trump has flipped America's approach
-
Musk's DOGE seeks access to IRS, Social Security filesSpeed Read If cleared, the Department of Government Efficiency would have access to tax returns, bank records and other highly personal information about most Americans
-
Senate confirms RFK Jr. as health secretarySpeed Read The noted vaccine skeptic is now in charge of America's massive public health system
-
Trump lays out plans for broad 'reciprocal' tariffsSpeed Read Tariffs imposed on countries that are deemed to be treating the US unfairly could ignite a global trade war and worsen American inflation
