Rudolph Giuliani doubled down Monday on his criticism of former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, saying he betrayed the president on a Shakespearean level.
During an interview on CNN’s “New Day,” Mr. Giuliani called Mr. Cohen a “scumbag” for secretly recording the president and accused him of doctoring the audio.
Mr. Giuliani said Mr. Cohen flipping on Mr. Trump was akin to Iago turning on Othello or when “Brutus put the last knife in Caesar.”
“[Mr. Trump] turned out to have a close friend betray him. That happens in life,” he told “New Day” host Alisyn Camerota.
When pressed by Ms. Camerota as to why he and Mr. Trump changed their tunes about Mr. Cohen, Mr. Giuliani explained that they weren’t aware of his actions.
“What the heck are you picking on me for, saying he was an honest, honorable man, when I didn’t know he tape-recorded conversations with his clients?” Mr. Giuliani said, “George Washington didn’t know that Benedict Arnold was a traitor.”
On July 24, CNN released audio from a tape provided by Mr. Cohen’s counsel of his discussing payment for the rights to Playboy model Karen McDougal’s affair story with the president.
He said that his legal team knows that there are 183 tapes, a handful of which have “interruptions” from the president, and only one has a conversation with him. The rest of the recordings are mostly of reporters and some businessmen, and none of the people on the tapes knew they were being recorded, Mr. Giuliani alleged.
Mr. Giuliani refused to say whether Mr. Trump would consider pardoning Mr. Cohen at this point but advised against anyone planning on a pardon for their legal strategy.
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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