Former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti on Monday commented on the new agreement by former Rudy Giuliani henchman Igor Fruman to plead guilty to charges of campaign finance violations and other charges.
Taking to Twitter after the news broke, Mariotti said that Giuliani "should be concerned about Fruman testifying against him at trial." He explained that if a co-conspirator were to testify against Giuliani that it would have more power.
The campaign finance issues that Fruman was charged with aren't the same as the investigations into whether Giuliani was working as an unregistered foreign agent.
It's possible, however, that a close associate such as Fruman could have some knowledge based on his experience with Giuliani.
Another former prosecutor and CNN legal analyst, Elie Honig, also wondered if Fruman's guilty plea is part of a possible agreement to implicate Rudy Giuliani, who is being investigated by the Justice Department.
"The big question now: Is this a cooperation plea deal, or a 'straight' plea, without cooperation?" tweeted Honig. "We'll know soon, either by the structure of the formal paperwork around the deal, or by intrepid reporting."
See their comments below:
Rudy Giuliani should be concerned about Fruman testifying against him at trial.
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) August 23, 2021
The prosecution’s case will have more power if a co-conspirator testifies and claims that Giuliani was part of the scheme with him. https://t.co/eRvaeCgrkA
The big question now: is this a cooperation plea deal, or a "straight" plea, without cooperation? We'll know soon, either by the structure of the formal paperwork around the deal, or by intrepid reporting.https://t.co/NTGhATZEhy
— Elie Honig (@eliehonig) August 23, 2021
