Rudy Giuliani is between the proverbial rock and a hard place. He can remain silent as the Justice Department prepares to charge with numerous crimes or he can come clean and tell what he knows about his former client, Donald Trump.
Which of those two will Giuliani choose? According to former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti, Rudy is going to spill his secrets to the DOJ, writing in a column for Politico that once Giuliani is indicted, it will be too late for Trump:
“At that point, he will need to adopt a defense strategy that may put him at odds with his former client.
“That would make him worthless for Giuliani as a witness and force Giuliani to point the finger at Trump to save himself. The five-year sentence Manafort received for conspiring to violate [the Foreign Agents Registration Act] FARA gives Giuliani ample incentive to do so, especially since he knows Trump cannot pardon him any longer.”
An attorney like Giuliani who is looking at doing time has almost no choice but to cooperate, Mariotti explains:
“When a lawyer, particularly a famous former federal prosecutor like Giuliani, faces time in prison, the incentive to reduce that sentence is significant. Just like Michael Cohen, Giuliani will have every incentive to help federal prosecutors if it could potentially reduce his prison sentence. That could make the Giuliani prosecution far more consequential than it appears at first glance, given his role in everything from the defense of Trump’s impeachment to the Jan. 6 insurrection.”
Donald Trump can no longer do anything for Rudy, and that means Giuliani has no reason to protect his former client any longer:
“Without Trump’s protection or financial support, Giuliani’s loyalty would seem to have a limited shelf life.”
In a matter of weeks, Rudy Giuliani is going to become a cooperating witness for the feds. And then Donald Trump’s goose is truly cooked.
