Rudolph W. Giuliani’s public-relations war for President Trump appeared to backfire Monday, two days ahead of a climactic House vote on impeachment, with one interview quoting him saying he wanted the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine “out of the way” and another ending up on Russian state TV.
Mr. Giuliani, who returned from another fact-finding mission to Ukraine and Hungary a week ago, launched his pre-impeachment social media blitz on Sunday by alleging that he uncovered more proof of an “extensive” corruption scheme involving former Vice President Joseph R. Biden, son Hunter Biden and others. He said impeachment is a cover-up to protect the 2020 Democratic presidential front-runner from the true extent of his involvement in corruption.
“After hundreds of hours & months of research, I have garnered witnesses & documents which reveal the truth behind this impeachment, which includes NO wrongdoing by” the president, Mr. Giuliani tweeted.
But in an interview with The New Yorker published Monday, Mr. Giuliani said that he got former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch fired so that he could pursue his investigation of the Bidens more easily.
“I believed that I needed Yovanovitch out of the way,” he said. “She was going to make the investigations difficult for everybody.”
The president has accused Ms. Yovanovitch of being anti-Trump and said he believed she wasn’t cooperating with efforts to uncover corruption and alleged election meddling by Ukraine in 2016. Mr. Giuliani’s comments renewed criticism that he was essentially a rogue agent in U.S. foreign policy, pursuing an investigation that Democrats view as an invitation for foreign meddling in the 2020 election.
SEE ALSO: Rudy Giuliani says he has new proof of massive corruption in Ukraine involving Bidens
Some administration allies said privately that Mr. Giuliani’s comments weren’t helpful, but others believed it wouldn’t affect an impeachment vote in which lawmakers’ minds are made up in both parties.
While digging in Ukraine for information that would help Mr. Trump, Mr. Giuliani spoke with Yuriy Lutsenko, a former Ukrainian prosecutor general who had clashed with Ms. Yovanovitch and accused her of giving him a “do not prosecute” list. Ms. Yovanovitch has denied his accusation and said she was not disloyal to Mr. Trump. Mr. Lutsenko later withdrew his allegation.
Russian state TV also aired portions of a One America News Network documentary, in which Mr. Giuliani participated, regarding the accusations of widespread corruption in Ukraine, giving the impression that Moscow viewed the program favorably.
Alexandra Chalupa, a Democratic National Committee operative who said the Ukrainian Embassy in the U.S. helped her spread damaging information in 2016 about Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, said Mr. Giuliani “continues to represent the Kremlin’s agenda & propaganda.”
“He’s given Putin quite the Christmas gift while undermining U.S. national security and democracy, and hurting Ukraine,” she tweeted.
The president, who met with Mr. Giuliani at the White House last Friday after his latest trip to Ukraine, said Mr. Giuliani had given him some information, but “not too much.”
“He is a great person who loves our country, he does this out of love, believe me, he does this out of love. He sees what goes on,” the president said.
Mr. Trump called Mr. Giuliani, a former U.S. attorney in Manhattan, “probably the greatest crime fighter of the last 50 years.”
“He knows what he is doing,” the president said.
Mr. Giuliani did not return requests for comment Monday.
Over the weekend, Mr. Giuliani says he’s uncovered proof of “extensive” corruption in Ukraine, including “clear” proof of money laundering by Burisma Holdings energy company to benefit the Bidens.
In a series of tweets, Mr. Giuliani said his trip earlier this month to Ukraine “garnered witnesses & documents which reveal the truth behind this impeachment,” which he said includes no wrongdoing by Mr. Trump.
“Evidence revealed that corruption in 2016 was so extensive it was POTUS’s DUTY to ask for US-Ukraine investigation,” Mr. Giuliani tweeted, days before the House prepares to vote on impeaching the president. He said impeachment is part of a Democratic “cover up” of what he found in “hundreds of hours” and months of research.
“Extortion, bribery & money laundering goes beyond Biden’s,” Mr. Giuliani said.
The president retweeted several of his lawyer’s posts.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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