Rudy Giuliani Walks Back Startling Moscow Claim

He said Trump Tower timeline was 'hypothetical'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 22, 2019 1:43 AM CST
Giuliani Does U-Turn on 'Hypothetical' Russia Timeline
Rudy Giuliani addresses a gathering during a campaign event in Portsmouth, NH, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2018.   (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

For the second time in the space of a week, Rudy Giuliani has found himself walking back his own startling statements. Giuliani, President Trump's personal attorney, said Monday that comments he had made to the New York Times the day before about Trump Tower Moscow were "hypothetical." Giuliani had originally claimed that Trump told him talks about the project were "going on from the day I announced to the day I won." He said Monday that his remarks about discussions between Trump and Michael Cohen "about a potential Trump Moscow 'project' were hypothetical and not based on conversations I had with the president."

"My comments did not represent the actual timing or circumstances of any such discussions," Giuliani said. "The point is that the proposal was in the earliest stage and did not advance beyond a free nonbinding letter of intent." On NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, Giuliani had said Trump remembers discussions until "October, maybe November," and his written answers on the issue to the Robert Mueller investigation "cover until the election," the Washington Post reports. Cohen pleaded guilty last year to lying to Congress about the length of the negotiations, which he initially claimed ended in January 2016. Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly told CNN Monday that the contradictions made Giuliani sound like "a crazy old uncle." (Last week, Giuliani backtracked on collusion comments.)

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