President Trump is now facing a formal impeachment inquiry, Trump national security officials are blaming his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, and Giuliani is pointing the finger at ... George Soros. In another wild night of interviews, this time on Fox News, Giuliani responded to a Washington Post report that many Trump administration national security officials blame him and his "shadow" Ukraine machinations for Trump's impeachment problems, insisting that everything he did on Trump's behalf in Ukraine was done "at the request of the State Department."
"I never talked to a Ukrainian official until the State Department called me and asked me to do it," Giuliani told Fox News host Laura Ingraham. "And then I reported every conversation back to them." He held up his phone as purported proof.
Ingraham asked, reasonably, why Trump's personal lawyer is his point man on Ukraine, and how Giuliani is defending Trump by going after Biden.
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.
If you're confused at how George Soros fits in to all this — spoiler: he doesn't — Robert Mackey has a thorough rundown of Giuliani's allegations at The Intercept, and another one of Giuliani's Ukrainian targets rebutted his accusations in The Washington Post. Giuliani went on to say that Trump shouldn't be impeached, but Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) should be because he told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky it would be inappropriate for Kiev to interfere in America's election, as Trump was apparently requesting.
You can watch the entire interview at Fox News, but later on Ingraham's show, Giuliani made a cameo after a liberal guest, Chris Hahn, pointed out that Giuliani had just accused the State Department of directing him "to go meet with the Ukraine to get evidence on the president's political opponent," then said if the Bidens weren't public figures, they should sue Giuliani for libel. That last part really set Giuliani off. Watch below. Peter Weber
-
The mission to demine UkraineThe Explainer An estimated quarter of the nation – an area the size of England – is contaminated with landmines and unexploded shells from the war
-
Can anyone save Jimmy Lai?Today's Big Question 'Britain's shameful inaction' will mean it's partly 'responsible' if Hong Kong businessman dies in prison
-
The most notable records broken by Taylor SwiftIn Depth The pop star has cemented herself as one of the century's most popular artists
-
Trump expands National Guard role in policingSpeed Read The president wants the Guard to take on a larger role in domestic law enforcement
-
Trump says he's firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa CookSpeed Read The move is likely part of Trump's push to get the central bank to cut interest rates
-
Abrego released from jail, faces Uganda deportationSpeed Read The wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego García is expected to be detained at an ICE check-in and deported to Uganda
-
Trump arms National Guard in DC, threatens other citiesspeed read His next targets are Chicago, New York and Baltimore
-
Judge: Trump's US attorney in NJ serving unlawfullySpeed Read The appointment of Trump's former personal defense lawyer, Alina Habba, as acting US attorney in New Jersey was ruled 'unlawful'
-
Third judge rejects DOJ's Epstein records requestSpeed Read Judge Richard Berman was the third and final federal judge to reject DOJ petitions to unseal Epstein-related grand jury material
-
Texas OKs gerrymander sought by TrumpSpeed Read The House approved a new congressional map aimed at flipping Democratic-held seats to Republican control
-
Israel starts Gaza assault, approves West Bank planSpeed Read Israel forces pushed into the outskirts of Gaza City and Netanyahu's government gave approval for a settlement to cut the occupied Palestinian territory in two
