Rudolph W. Giuliani, President Trump’s personal lawyer, said in a new interview that former National Security Adviser John R. Bolton is a “backstabber” and that he doubts Mr. Bolton’s reported comments that Mr. Trump directly tied military aid to Ukraine with investigations into Democrats.
“He never said to me, ’I’ve got a problem with what you’re doing in Ukraine’ — never once,” Mr. Giuliani said in an interview that aired Wednesday on “CBS This Morning.” “Never winked. Never sent me a little note. He is a personal friend, I thought.”
“So, here’s the only conclusion I can come to, and it’s a harsh one, and I feel very bad about it,” the former New York City mayor said. “He’s a backstabber.”
“If your friend was complaining about you behind your back and didn’t have the guts to come up to your face and tell you, ’I think you’re screwing up’ … that’d be a backstabber. That’s classic backstabber. So, I feel I got a swamp character here,” he said.
“I find his testimony about the president pretty close to incredible. I can’t imagine that the president of the United States said that to him,” Mr. Giuliani said.
In an unpublished manuscript, Mr. Bolton reportedly wrote that Mr. Trump told him in August to continue freezing security assistance to Ukraine until the country’s officials helped with investigations into Democrats, including his political rival, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden.
The issue is at the heart of Mr. Trump’s impeachment trial. He stands accused of abuse of power for improperly withholding the aid and obstruction of Congress for failing to comply with the impeachment inquiry.
The president has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, and his legal team wrapped up their arguments in his defense on Tuesday.
Democrats say the new revelations mean Mr. Bolton should testify in the trial, though it’s unclear whether there are enough votes to support hearing from witnesses.
Mr. Giuliani had helped spearhead an effort to dig up dirt on Mr. Biden and his son Hunter in Ukraine.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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