- CNN's Chris Cuomo and President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, got into a 28-minute shouting match during a one-on-one interview Thursday evening.
- A Trump phone call is at the center of a recent whistleblower complaint of "urgent concern," according to reports. On Thursday, The Washington Post reported that Ukraine was at issue.
- Cuomo had Giuliani on the show to discuss the whistleblower complaint, pointing out that Congress is looking into Giuliani's potential contact with Ukraine for political reasons.
- Cuomo attempted to interrupt Giuliani to clarify details on whether or not the defense lawyer asked Ukraine to look into former Vice President Biden and his son Hunter Biden, a detail that Giuliani went back and forth on.
- The intensity came to a breaking point as the interview wrapped up.
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CNN's Chris Cuomo and President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, sparred for 28 minutes during a one-on-one interview Thursday evening over Trump's whistleblower scandal.
Trump making a "promise" on phone call with a foreign leader is at the center of a recent whistleblower complaint of "urgent concern," according to reports. On Thursday, The Washington Post reported that Ukraine is at the center of the complaint, according to two former US officials.
Cuomo had Giuliani on the show to comment on the whistleblower complaint and also pointed out that Congress is looking into Giuliani's communications with Ukraine for alleged political reasons.
"One is whether Ukrainian officials took steps during the 2016 election to damage Mr. Trump's campaign," The New York Times, which broke the news that Giuliani wanted to pressure Ukraine, wrote in August. "The other is whether there was anything improper about the overlap between former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s diplomatic efforts in Ukraine and his son's role with a gas company there."
Giuliani had planned to take a trip to Ukraine in May (that never happened) to talk to the incoming Ukrainian president about investigations into Hunter Biden and the 2016 election. The prosecutor who had been looking into the two issues was dismissed over allegations of corruption.
The former vice president had pressured Ukraine into firing the prosecutor, however, PolitiFact did not find evidence that it was related to his son; there was a broader international push for his ouster.
Three House committees are looking into whether Trump and Giuliani were trying "to pressure the government of Ukraine to assist the President's reelection campaign" by investigating Trump's political rivals — namely Biden and his family.
The CNN interview started off on the wrong foot after Giuliani called Cuomo's summation of the situation "totally erroneous."
Cuomo attempted to interrupt Giuliani to clarify details on whether or not the defense lawyer asked Ukraine to look into Biden, a detail on which Giuliani went back and forth.
"Did you ask the Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden?" Cuomo initially asked when the two were not talking over one another, to which Giuliani replied, "No, I didn't."
A few moments later, Giuliani said he asked Ukraine to get to the bottom of the case that was dismissed by Petro O. Poroshenko involving Hunter.
"So you did ask Ukraine to investigate Biden," Cuomo said.
"Of course I did," Giuliani responded.
The intensity came to a breaking point as the interview wrapped up.
"You've been distracting from the truth for a year and a half, and I hope you enjoy it because this president got the benefit of something you built up for decades — your credibility," Cuomo said, "and you put it on the line for him. Good choice."
"I put it on the line for him 1,000%, and I think your network is a horror to this country," Giuliani replied, adding that he can back up his claims with documents.
Cuomo asked Giuliani to give him the documents, to which Giuliani replied, "Why would I give the enemy the documents?"
The lawyer went on to call CNN a "creature of the Democratic National Committee," told Cuomo that he should be embarrassed.
"Have a good night," Cuomo said as he ended the interview.
"You shouldn't have a good night because what you're doing is bad for the country," Giuliani said.
Following the interview Giuliani tweeted, "A President telling a Pres-elect of a well known corrupt country he better investigate corruption that affects US is doing his job."
Watch clips of the interview below:
CNN's @ChrisCuomo: "Did you ask Ukraine to look into Joe Biden?"@RudyGiuliani: "Of course I did"
— Cuomo Prime Time (@CuomoPrimeTime) September 20, 2019
President Trump's attorney says he had spoken with a Ukrainian official about Joe Biden's possible role in that government's dismissal of a prosecutor who investigated Biden's son. pic.twitter.com/hqmqtmx2VW
Giuliani: "Some whistleblowers are liars"@ChrisCuomo speaks with Pres. Trump's attorney @RudyGiuliani about a whistleblower complaint that was never alerted to the House Intelligence Committee despite the intelligence community IG finding it "credible" and of "urgent concern" pic.twitter.com/dQ8ORHWwgF
— Cuomo Prime Time (@CuomoPrimeTime) September 20, 2019
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