Rudy Giuliani does an about-face and says he is NOT quitting as Trump's personal lawyer just hours after announcing his plans to leave the post as soon as Mueller investigation fallout winds down
- Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani announced he will leave his post with the president after fallout from the Russia report dies down on Thursday
- Hours later he backtracked and tweeted that he had no departure plans
- The 75-year-old who joined Trump's team in April 2018 gave no explanation
- Giuliani has been dealing with non-congressional related fall out as a result of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation
- Prosecutors in New York are still reviewing evidence generated by the probe
Rudy Giuliani says he will continue his role as President Donald Trump's personal lawyer mere hours after announcing his plans to leave the post as soon as the fallout from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation winds down.
The former New York mayor made an about-face on Thursday afternoon after the Washington Examiner published an interview in which Giuliani revealed his impending departure from Team Trump.
'I have no plan to cease personal representation of @RealDonaldTrump,' the attorney wrote on Twitter. 'I was brought on to handle the Mueller investigation and I am still dealing with the possible crimes committed by the investigators. I'm here until Pres. doesn't need me or needs something else.'
Giuliani did not offer any explanation for his conflicting messages.
Rudy Giuliani has said he will continue his role as President Donald Trump's personal lawyer mere hours after announcing his plans to leave the post as soon as the fallout from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation winds down (file photo)
Giuliani made an about-face on Thursday afternoon after the Washington Examiner published an interview in which the attorney revealed his impending departure from Team Trump
Giuliani had told the Examiner he is still working on legal issues on the president's behalf and said he would finish up any non-congressional related 'cleanup' from the investigation before leaving the team.
Prosecutors for the US attorney's office for the Southern District of New York and the New York attorney general's office are still reviewing evidence generation by Mueller's investigation, which was brought to a close in late March.
The former Mayor of New York became a key strategist for Trump when he joined his legal team in April 2018. He also many times served as a spokesman for the president, speaking on his behalf when appearing on television and sharing his feelings on certain issues.
Even though he said he would likely stay on the team if Trump asked him to, Giuliani said he has other projects he enjoys doing that keep him 'pretty busy'
Giuliani joined Trump's team in April 2018 after the president struggled to find legal representation
Giuliani, 75, says his decision to conclude representing Trump was in part due to other projects that keep him 'pretty busy.'
Even though the attorney said he will 'probably not' stay on as the president's personal lawyer, he conceded that it's possible he would stay on if Trump asked him to.
'Depends on if I'm needed,' Giuliani said.
Any congressional-related fall out from Mueller's investigation is being handled by the White House legal team.
Many committees in the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives have opened probes into Trump that stem from the 448-page report Mueller wrote on the special counsel office's investigation.
Mueller concluded his investigation in March and handed over the 448-page report to Attorney General Bill Barr. Last week, he publcily spoke at the DOJ and said the report needed to stand for itself
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The report, which Attorney General Bill Barr made public in mid April after blacking out 10 per cent of the text, found no evidence that Trump, his associates or those in his campaign or administration had conspired with the Kremlin to influence the 2016 elections.
The president claims the report fully exonerated him from all crimes, even though Mueller did outline 10 potential 'episodes' of obstruction of justice, which include ordering the firing of Mueller.
Democrats have said these instances are enough evidence to bring about impeachment proceedings against the president for obstructing an ongoing federal investigation.
Giuliani says he is 'following up on evidence concerning creation of the false narrative' that Trump colluded with Russia following the release of the report.
Giuliani often times served as a strategist and spokesman for Trump after becoming his attorney
The 75-year-old attorney is handling any non-congressional related fall out from the Russia report
Mueller spoke publicly last week from the Department of Justice and said he could not charge Trump because it went against longstanding department protocol to not charge a sitting president with a federal crime.
He announced his resignation for the DOJ and told those seeking more answer on the investigation that the report needed to stand for itself.
Democrats, including many candidates running in the 2020 primaries, took Mueller's remarks as a signal that it is Congress's job to charge the president and impeach him.
Giuliani says he has 'no plan' to join the government after stepping aside as Trump's attorney, but says he would like to continue getting involved in 'legal cases I am interested in.'
The former mayor was once reportedly offered the position of attorney general or Department of Homeland Security secretary in Trump's administration.
