[ad_1]
Donald Trump has had a falling out with his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, and refuses to pay the former New York mayor’s legal bills, it was reported, and the president felt abandoned and frustrated during his final days in office.
Giuliani played a key role in Trump’s failed attempts to overturn the results of the November presidential election through the courts. The attorney mounted numerous bogus legal challenges, traveled to swing states won by Joe Biden, and spread false claims that the vote was rigged.
According to the Washington Post, relations between Trump and Giuliani have drastically cooled. Trump has ordered his aides not to pay Giuliani’s outstanding fees. The president is reportedly offended by Giuliani’s demand for $ 20,000 a day, a figure that the lawyer denies, but is apparently in writing. White House officials have even been told not to take any of Giuliani’s calls.
Commenting on the report, Ken Frydman, who served as Giuliani’s press secretary in the 1990s, said: “Lie down with dogs. Wake up with fleas and without $ 20,000 a day. “
The apparent rift with Giuliani, one of Trump’s most loyal and sycophantic supporters, has contributed to the president’s sense of isolation and betrayal, his aides suggested.
Trump is reportedly unhappy that members of his inner circle have been unable to defend him after last week’s deadly attack on the United States Capitol by crowds of his supporters. Many have remained silent after Wednesday’s vote in the House of Representatives to impeach Trump a second time.
Those who have reportedly not stepped forward include Trump’s press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, his son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, and his chief of staff, Mark Meadows, responsible for indulging Trump’s belief. that the election was rigged.
“The president is quite agitated,” a senior administration official told the Post. “There is no one out there.”
Trump’s refusal to pay Giuliani’s bills is another blow to the former federal prosecutor. Giuliani is already coming under fire for his alleged role in inciting Trump supporters to storm the Capitol building.
Addressing the Trump Save America rally in Washington last week, Giuliani said: “I am willing to put my reputation on the line, the president is willing to put his reputation on the line, for the fact that we are going to find crime there.” . He deliberately added: “Let’s do trial by combat.”
Michael Sherwin, the acting US attorney for Washington DC, is investigating the riot. You said you are looking at numerous participants. They include those who instigated the invasion of the Capitol, a category that could implicate Trump and Giuliani.
A group of Giuliani’s former colleagues from his time as Manhattan federal prosecutor have blamed him squarely for the post-rally chaos. “It was jarring and totally disheartening to have seen one of our former colleagues engage in such behavior,” they wrote. He also faces a disqualification complaint in New York.
Over the past week, Trump has suffered a series of damaging setbacks. Cabinet members have resigned, corporations have cut ties with the Trump organization and the US Professional Golfers Association, canceling a deal to hold their championship next year at Trump’s New Jersey course. His longtime bank, Deutsche, has said it no longer wants him as a customer.
Trump is reportedly more isolated than ever. The White House is understaffed and those who go to work there deliberately avoid the Oval Office, the Post reported.
The break with the president may dampen Guiliani’s lingering hopes of receiving a presidential pardon. Giuliani held talks with Trump last year about receiving an amnesty for his work on behalf of the president in Ukraine. Criminal charges for illegal campaign donations have been brought against two of Giuliani’s associates, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman. The trio worked to try to unearth Biden and his son Hunter.
Additional reporting by Martin Pengelly
