Giuliani hires ex-Watergate prosecutor for legal help in Ukraine battle
President Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani has hired Jon Sale, a former assistant Watergate prosecutor, to represent him in the congressional investigations into Trump’s contacts with Ukraine.
Sale confirmed in an email to The Hill on Tuesday that he is representing Giuliani, who was subpoenaed a day earlier for a slew of documents and communications related to his efforts to get Ukraine to investigate unsubstantiated allegations about former Vice President Joe Biden, a Democratic presidential candidate, and his family.
{mosads}Sale served as an assistant Watergate prosecutor under special prosecutors Archibald Cox and Leon Jaworski.
Sale was involved in litigation to obtain secret tapes from former President Nixon’s White House to determine whether officials engaged in criminal conduct in the Oval Office, according to his biography on the website of his current practice, Nelson Mullins, based in Miami, Fla. Sale currently co-chairs the firm’s white collar and government investigations practice group.
Sale was also a classmate of Giuliani, according to The New York Times. He served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York and the District of Connecticut, and as chief assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of Florida.
Three House committees subpoenaed Giuliani for documents on Monday as part of the impeachment inquiry announced by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) last week. The inquiry is centered on a whistleblower complaint alleging Trump solicited interference from Ukraine in the 2020 election by raising investigations into Biden on a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The complaint also mentions Giuliani as a “central figure” in the effort by the president to “pressure” Ukraine to investigate the Biden allegations. Giuliani has admitted publicly to asking Ukraine to investigate Biden and doubled down on his accusations that the former vice president engaged in corrupt behavior, without offering up evidence.
It’s not clear whether Giuliani plans to comply with the subpoena, which requires him to furnish 23 categories of documents by Oct. 15. Giuliani said Monday that it “will be given appropriate consideration” while asserting that it raised executive privilege and other issues.
Giuliani could enter into an extensive battle with Democrats if he chooses to resist the subpoena. House Democrats could take him to court to try to enforce it, or draft an article of impeachment against Trump for obstruction of Congress, citing Giuliani’s efforts as evidence.
Trump has defended his call with Zelensky as “perfect,” noting there was no explicit quid pro quo on the call and pointing to the Ukrainian leader’s own comments that he didn’t feel pressured. Trump has also accused Democrats of a “witch hunt” — recycling a moniker he regularly used to describe former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.