Rudy Giuliani: Impeachment Proceedings a ‘Travesty’

Rudy Giuliani takes questions from the media after speaking at the Conference on Iran in Washington on May 5, 2018. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

President Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani said the House impeachment inquiry into President Trump is “a travesty” following the first week of public hearings.

He said the three people who were called to testify in front of the House Intelligence Committee didn’t present any evidence of wrongdoing.

“After 3 witnesses no evidence has been presented of any offense,” Giuliani wrote on Twitter. “The first two permanent diplomats had no direct knowledge just overhearing things. The third one had no knowledge, not even hearsay. This is a travesty and embarrassment to our country.”

He later added that House Democrats “have NO crime and NO victim.”

Some witnesses have testified that Giuliani was involved in the White House’s policy in Ukraine, claiming he set up an “irregular channel” to try and pressure Kyiv into investigating former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, who sat on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings.

Former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch and State Department diplomats Bill Taylor and George Kent testified in front of the House Intelligence Committee last week during the first hearings. Yovanovitch claimed Giuliani was part of a campaign to oust her.

Giuliani also made a reference to Democrats’ pivoting, alleging that Trump committed bribery rather than accusing him of quid pro quo. They have said he abused his power by withholding military aid to Ukraine in exchange for investigations, which the White House has denied.

“Bribery is a disaster for Dems,” Guiliani said in a tweet, adding that “they are trying to impeach @realDonaldTrump [for] what Biden did. Biden offered a thing of value, loan guarantee, in return for official action, firing a prosecutor. That’s bribery. Requesting an investigation of crimes without conditions is innocent.”

The first testimonies in the House inquiry were behind closed doors before House Democrats released transcripts of those depositions.

Biden was working to get Ukraine’s president to remove Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin. Ukraine, for decades, has been known for pervasive corruption.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) disagreed with Giuliani’s tweet when he was asked about them on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

“The crimes and the offenses that have been detailed in this testimony are absolutely damning,” Murphy told host Jake Tapper.

Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, will appear next week during the latest round of House hearings.

“I think over the weekend Mr. Sondland has to decide whether his primary loyalty is to America or whether his primary loyalty is to the president of the United States,” Murphy said.