Rudy Giuliani pushed back against a report Tuesday that he recently asked President Donald Trump to pardon him before leaving office, claiming the discussion "never" happened.
The New York Times reported Giuliani and Trump talked about the possibility of a preemptive pardon last week as the former New York City mayor continues to wage his largely ineffective legal war to subvert President-elect Joe Biden's election victory. The two men reportedly discussed the sensitive topic previously as well.
But Giuliani issued a blanket denial that the conversation ever happened.
"Not true at all," he told the New York Daily News in a text message.
A few minutes later, he elaborated in a tweet. "NYT lies again," Giuliani posted. "Never had the discussion they falsely attribute to an anonymous source. Hard to keep up with all their lies."
It's unclear in what context the alleged pardon discussions took place.
Giuliani has not been charged with any crimes, but federal prosecutors in Manhattan are known to be investigating his various business dealings in Ukraine and his role in ousting the U.S. ambassador in the European country.
Trump pardoned Michael Flynn, his former national security adviser, last week. He's likely to issue several more pardons before leaving office on Jan. 20.
Though unusual, presidents can pardon crimes preemptively. The most famous example was President Gerald Ford's 1974 pardon of Richard Nixon for any and all crimes that he may have committed as part of the Watergate scandal.
