Bus, meet Rudy

Department of Justice Distances Itself from Rudy Giuliani in Statement: ‘Would Not Have Met With Him’

The Department of Justice said in a statement that its officials would not have met with Rudy Giuliani about a fraud case had they known his associates were under federal investigation.

The New York Times reported Brian Benczkowski and other DOJ officials met with President Donald Trump’s lawyer several weeks ago to discuss a fraud case. The meeting took place before federal prosecutors arrested and charged Giuliani associates Igor Fruman and Lev Parnas with campaign finance violations.

“When Mr. Benczkowski and fraud section lawyers met with Mr. Giuliani, they were not aware of any investigation of Mr. Giuliani’s associates in the Southern District of New York and would not have met with him had they known,” said DOJ spokesman Peter Carr.

“This is an incredibly unusual statement from the Justice Department, which does not comment on ongoing investigations or even acknowledge them, and it’s the kind of statement that would give clients pause about who is representing them,” former federal prosecutor and MSNBC contributor Joyce Vance told the New York Times.

Giuliani did not respond to a request for comment from the Times.

https://www.mediaite.com/trump/department-of-justice-distances-itself-from-rudy-giuliani-in-statement-would-not-have-met-with-him/