Rudy Giuliani is yelling at reporters that he's a 'hero' and 'the real whistleblower'

The understaffed and demoralized White House wasn't prepared for "the speed at which a whistleblower's claims have morphed into an impeachment inquiry," but "they're turning, at least for now, to some of the same strategies they used to counter special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation," The Associated Press reports: "Attempt to discredit government officials at the heart of the story. Dispatch Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and other allies to muddy the picture. Lean on Republicans in Congress to provide cover."

Giuliani, at least, is doing his part. Not everyone appreciates it.

After a string of wild TV appearances, "Giuliani is now the subject of scorn," even among Trump's closest allies, Elaina Plott writes at The Atlantic. One former senior White House official told her the "entire thing" can be traced to "Rudy putting sh-t in Trump's head," while a senior GOP congressional aide called him a "moron." Giuliani hit back, telling Plott "they're a bunch of cowards," insisting he's "acting as someone who has devoted most of his life to straightening out government," and "anything I did should be praised."

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"It is impossible that the whistleblower is a hero and I'm not. And I will be the hero!" Giuliani said. "These morons — when this is over, I will be the hero." He was apparently shouting.

But Giuliani has a story to tell, and it is a hard-to-follow, mostly improbably, often debunked conspiracy involving Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, servers, and Ukrainian anti-corruption prosecutors, Ben Schreckinger details at Politico. "I'm the real whistleblower," Giuliani told him. "If I get killed now," he added, "You won't get the rest of the story." Everybody, Giuliani said, giving one hint, "thinks Soros is at the bottom of it."

"Asked on Wednesday about Giuliani's project," Schreckinger reports, "a spokeswoman for Soros' philanthropy, the Open Society Foundation, responded with laughter."