Former Donald Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani is expected to ‘spill damning secrets’ about his former boss in order to save himself from a prison sentence if he is found guilty of alleged crimes he committed on behalf of Trump, a former federal prosecutor said in a Sunday column for Politico over the weekend.
Former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti pointed out that Giuliani will likely be left with no choice but to provide evidence against Trump, noting that federal agents may be examining whether Giuliani was acting at the behest of Ukrainian officials when he urged Trump to oust then-ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch.
“If Giuliani’s efforts to push Trump to fire Yovanovitch were done on behalf of Ukrainian officials, that could be the sort of foreign lobbying activity that he should have disclosed,” Mariotti wrote.
The former prosecutor noted that Trump would likely throw Giuliani under the bus to protect himself as well. “At that point, he will need to adopt a defense strategy that may put him at odds with his former associate,” he explained.
“That would make him worthless for Giuliani as a witness and force Giuliani to point the finger at Trump to save himself,” Mariotti continued. “The five-year sentence Manafort received for conspiring to violate [the Foreign Agents Registration Act] FARA gives Giuliani ample incentive to do so, especially since he knows Trump cannot pardon him any longer.”
“When a lawyer, particularly a famous former federal prosecutor like Giuliani, faces time in prison, the incentive to reduce that sentence is significant,” the former prosecutor added. “Just like Michael Cohen, Giuliani will have every incentive to help federal prosecutors if it could potentially reduce his prison sentence. That could make the Giuliani prosecution far more consequential than it appears at first glance, given his role in everything from the defense of Trump’s impeachment to the Jan. 6 insurrection.”
“Without Trump’s protection or financial support, Giuliani’s loyalty would seem to have a limited shelf life.”
You can read more at Politico.
