Giuliani Will Not Be Representing Trump At Senate Impeachment Trial
Michael Cantrell
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President Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, won’t be on his legal defense team at the Senate impeachment trial due to his speaking role at the rally that went awry on January 6th at the Capitol.
ABC News reporter Johnathan Karl was the first to report that the former mayor of NYC would not be on the legal team for the trial on Sunday.
“Because I gave an earlier speech [at the rally], I am a witness and therefore unable to participate in court or in the Senate chamber,” Giuliani said, Karl reported.
In a statement Monday to The Hill, Giuliani noted “the rules of legal ethics would prohibit me from representing the President as trial counsel in the Impeachment trial,” also citing his rally participation and because “I may be a witness.”
He initially told ABC News he was working on Trump’s defense, saying Saturday he was prepared to argue the president’s claims of widespread voter fraud didn’t constitute incitement to violence because they’re true, ABC News reported.
“President Trump has not yet made a determination as to which lawyer or law firm will represent him for the disgraceful attack on our Constitution and democracy, known as the ‘impeachment hoax,'” a Trump spokesman, Hogan Gidley, tweeted Sunday.
Giuliani has been a huge part of the Trump legal team from the start of the whole election fiasco so it’s unfortunate he won’t be there to assist the president and his team.
However, it’s understandable why he’s not part of the effort. The president is attempting to distance himself from any appearance of causing or inciting the violence that occurred on the day in question.
Guess we’ll have to wait and see how this all goes. Technically, if you look at the Constitution, since Trump will be a private citizen, it seems like there shouldn’t even be a trial. We’ll find out soon enough.
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