President Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani tore into CNN’s Chris Cuomo during an interview Thursday night, calling the CNN host a “sellout” during a contentious exchange over Giuliani’s efforts to get Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden.
Giuliani accused Cuomo of being “totally biased” during a heated back-and-forth after the Trump lawyer denied that he had asked Ukraine to look into Biden before seconds later acknowledging that “of course” he had asked for such a review.{mosads}
“You’re trying to distort what I’m saying because you’re totally biased,” Giuliani argued over pushback from the CNN host. “You are, Chris. It’s sad … It’s sad to watch what’s happened to you. It’s sad!”
“You’re a total sellout,” the former New York City mayor added. “These are crimes of major proportions. And because they’re Democrats, you won’t cover it.”
Giuliani’s appearance on CNN Thursday came amid growing scrutiny this week over a whistleblower complaint reportedly related to Trump’s discussions with a foreign leader that was filed by a member of the U.S. intelligence community.
The Washington Post reported Thursday night that the complaint related to Ukraine.
Giuliani questioned the motivations of the person who filed the complaint, saying they would be investigated by the intelligence community’s inspector general.
The conversation eventually returned to Biden, with the host questioning whether Giuliani could produce documents he had referenced to back up his allegations.
“Why would I give the enemy the documents? … You are not fair and impartial. You are totally biased and your network is a creature of a Democratic National Committee,” Giuliani claimed.
During the interview, Giuliani acknowledged pressing for an investigation into Biden, the Democratic presidential front-runner, over what he alleged was an effort by the former vice president to pressure Ukraine into firing a prosecutor who was investigating a company of which Biden’s son Hunter Biden was a board member.
Biden had in 2016 threatened to withhold $1 billion in U.S. loan guarantees unless the Ukrainian government removed the top prosecutor, The New York Times reported. The prosecutor was later voted out amid corruption allegations.