Attorney General William Barr has reportedly cautioned President Donald Trump on multiple occasions that he is “not being well served” by his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, advising the President that the former New York City Mayor has become a liability for the administration. According to one former federal prosecutor, Barr, who oversees the U.S. Attorney’s office currently investigating Giuliani on multiple fronts, may be attempting to warn the White House about Giuliani’s dire legal straits.
As previously reported by Law&Crime, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York (SDNY) have issued subpoenas to Giuliani’s businesses and professional associates which illustrate a “very specific, and very long list of serious crimes,” such as money laundering, obstruction of justice and campaign-finance violations.
Speaking to a federal judge presiding over the criminal case against recently indicted Giuliani business associates Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Zolkind last week further portended bad news for Giuliani, telling the court that a superseding indictment in the case was “likely.”
Appearing on CNN Monday morning, former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York Elie Honig said Barr counseling Trump about Giuliani presented a conflict of interest.
“Why is Bill Barr personally advising Donald Trump, ‘You need to keep your distance from Rudy.’ Bill Barr is the AG, not personal attorney to the president. Is he tipping the president off?” Honig said.
“Rudy Giuliani has become this all-purpose vigilante, international crime fighter, sort of on his own, sort of working for President Trump but not really. I don’t know what they expect – Rudy getting off a jet with a box full of documents?,” Honig added.
He commented on the perceived conflict of interest again later Monday morning.
“Barr oversees SDNY which is investigating Rudy [Giuliani],” Elie Honig wrote. “Is this a wink-and-nod way of telling Trump to steer clear?”
Attorney and impeachment expert Ross Garber also commented on the White House’s Giuliani problem, saying his ambiguously defined role has only further inflamed the administration’s problems.
[image via Ed Zurga/Getty Images]