Giuliani says he won’t comply with subpoenas from Democrats

Rudy Giuliani, President Trump’s personal attorney, told lawmakers on Tuesday that he won’t comply with a congressional subpoena for documents and communications related to House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry.

Giuliani’s attorney, Jon Sale, wrote to the House Intelligence Committee that Giuliani would not comply with the subpoena. Sale cited a White House letter stating that it would not cooperate with the impeachment inquiry, which it claimed was invalid.

{mosads}Sale’s letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Hill, argues that the subpoena is “overbroad, unduly burdensome, and seeks documents beyond the scope of legitimate inquiry.” Sale also asserted that certain documents in the subpoena fall under attorney-client privilege, an argument some legal experts expressed skepticism about.

An official working on the impeachment inquiry said Democrats will consider Trump and his personal attorney to be obstructing their probe if Giuliani refuses to testify.

“Witnesses do not get to choose whether to comply with a duly-authorized subpoena, or to pick their investigators—not in the justice system, not in the Congress, and not in our democracy,” the official said in a written statement.

“If Rudy Giuliani and the President truly have nothing to hide about their actions, Giuliani will comply—otherwise, we will be forced to consider this as additional evidence of obstruction, and may infer that the evidence withheld would substantiate the accusations of President Trump’s misconduct and efforts to cover it up. Nobody is above the law, not a president, and not his shadow envoy to Ukraine.” 

Giuliani hired Sale, a former Watergate prosecutor, to assist him in responding to the subpoena. Sale told The Hill on Tuesday his work for Giuliani is completed, and he is no longer representing him as a result.

House Democrats sent Giuliani a subpoena on Sept. 30 seeking documents related to his work in Ukraine, which is at the heart of an ongoing impeachment inquiry into Trump. Giuliani has been at the center of efforts to find and circulate potentially damaging allegations about former Vice President Joe Biden, one of Trump’s chief political rivals.

Giuliani said at the time that he had received the subpoena and would consider it, but he criticized the Democratic lawmakers who signed it as having “prejudged” the case.

He released a statement on Twitter later on Tuesday, saying he would not “participate in an illegitimate, unconstitutional, and baseless ‘impeachment inquiry.'” He also confirmed that Sale was no longer representing him.

I will not participate in an illegitimate, unconstitutional, and baseless “impeachment inquiry.”

Jon Sale, who is a lifelong friend, has represented me for the sole purpose of analyzing the request and responding. At this time, I do not need a lawyer. pic.twitter.com/l0IR0ikEHD

— Rudy Giuliani (@RudyGiuliani) October 15, 2019

Spokespeople for the three House committees leading the impeachment inquiry did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Giuliani’s decision not to comply.

Giuliani was expected to attend the Tuesday afternoon American League Championship Series game between the New York Yankees and Houston Astros.

If he does not comply, House Democrats could move to hold him in contempt. While it is unlikely that Attorney General William Barr would hold Giuliani in criminal contempt, the House could have the sergeant at arms arrest him for inherent contempt.

–Updated at 3:58 p.m.

Sale Letter by Meghashyam Mali on Scribd