President Donald Trump has become frustrated with his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, who frequently goes off-script, complicating matters for his client.
Two people familiar with Trump’s thinking said that the President has begun questioning whether Giuliani, a former federal prosecutor and New York City mayor, should be benched from television interviews. The two people spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly about the private discussions.
According to CNBC, Trump also expressed annoyance that Giuliani’s theatrics have breathed new life into porn actress Stormy Daniels’ story. In 2016, Daniels was paid hush money by Trump’s then-personal lawyer Michael Cohen to stay quiet about an alleged affair she had with Trump. The President’s allies share his concerns that Trump’s lawyer only generates more legal and political trouble for the White House.
Giuliani, the newest addition to the President’s legal team, first shocked the White House last week when he said, during an interview on Fox News, that the President was aware of the $130,000 payout to Daniels from Cohen, contradicting Trump who claimed he was unaware of the payment.
Trump then criticized his lawyer, saying that he needed to “get his facts straight.” As a result, Giuliani issued a statement trying to clarify his remarks. However, during the weekend, Giuliani again made some unexpected comments, claiming that “Cohen takes care of situations like this, then gets paid for them sometimes,” indicating that he may have also paid off other women.
Additionally, Trump has grown irritated in recent days by replays of Giuliani’s interview with Sean Hannity, in which he claimed that the president knew about the payment but that it wasn’t a campaign violation because “they funneled it through the law firm.”
Following several interviews, Trump reportedly told a confidant that perhaps Giuliani should “be benched” — at least temporarily — if he can’t improve his performance. However, Trump has not yet publicly discussed dismissing his lawyer.
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