President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer has accused special counsel Robert Mueller of trying to intimidate allies of the president as he reiterated his belief that the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election is simply a “witch hunt”.
Rudy Giuliani made the remarks during an appearance on New York’s AM 970's The Answer, where he was asked about the recent guilty plea of Michael Cohen in relation to the investigation.
“They obviously exerted a lot of pressure on him. Mr Cohen unfortunately has a history of significant lies in the past,“ Mr Giuliani said.
Mr Cohen, the president’s former personal lawyer, admitted last week that he lied to Congress when questioned about attempts by the Trump Organisation to establish a real estate development in Moscow while Mr Trump was running for office. Since running into legal troubles, Mr Cohen has indicated that he is putting his family and country first in a public break from his longtime client.
Mr Giuliani continued: ”This isn’t a search for the truth. It’s a witch hunt. This is what is wrong with these special prosecutors an independent counsels. They think they are God."
The former mayor of New York City said the Mueller probe has also been unfair to former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who the Mueller team has accused of violating a plea agreement by lying to federal investigators. Manafort, who had previously been convicted on eight felony bank and tax fraud charges, has denied intentionally lying to investigators.
“They want [Paul Manafort] to give certain forms of evidence that would implicate the president in things that Mr Manafort says are untrue,” Mr Giuliani said. “And they are pressuring him, and creating a real risk that the man might commit perjury. This kind of pressure can create the risk of tainted testimony."
