President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani told reporters he would be willing to testify in the Senate’s impeachment trial.
Speaking to reporters on New Year’s Eve, Giuliani said he would testify, “give lectures,” and even “try the case” if he was asked to.
“I would testify. I would do demonstrations. I’d give lectures. I’d give summations. Or I’d do what I do best, I’d try the case. I’d love to try the case.”
Watch his comments below:
Giuliani's answer to being asked if he'd testify at the impeachment trial is completely insane pic.twitter.com/8BMjVy4r9A
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) January 1, 2020
When asked to clarify his comments, Giuliani said he doesn’t know if “anybody would have the courage” to ask him to.
“I don’t know if anybody would have the courage to give me the case. But if you give me the case, I will prosecute it as racketeering case — which I kind of invented anyway. It’s been thirty years ago, but let’s see if I can still do it.”
House Democrats and Republicans will pick representatives to argue the case for and against impeachment before senators. So far, neither side has indicated they would consider choosing Giuliani to argue the case.
Congressional Democrats have previously said they would like to have Giuliani testify about his involvement in asking Ukrainian officials to open an investigation of former vice president Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden.
While he has been seen as a potential witness in the impeachment case, it has not prevented him from trying to influence the process.
In the midst of the impeachment effort, he traveled to Ukraine to try to uncover evidence that the Bidens engaged in corruption in that country. That trip raised some eyebrows about his actions, even among Republicans.
One of Trump’s supporters in Congress, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), asked why Giuliani was in Ukraine in the middle of the impeachment proceedings — instead of defending his actions.
While Giuliani has said he would testify, not every potential witness has voiced such willingness.
Former Vice President Biden has indicated that he would strongly oppose testifying, citing concerns that Senate Republicans would try to draw attention away from Trump’s actions.
In December, Biden ruled out testifying in the trial, as he told reporters that he would not allow lawmakers to “take their eye off the ball” by testifying.
Later, Biden appeared to say that he would ignore a subpoena, but since changed his position saying that he would “obey any subpoena that was sent to me.”