Giuliani Says He'd Be Fine With Testifying During Trump Impeachment Trial

After the House’s impeachment inquiry, which was characterized in part by several subpoenaed key witnesses refusing to testify, there’s one member in President Donald Trump’s camp willing to take the stand: former New York City mayor and Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani.

According to The Hill, this week Giuliani told reporters outside Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida-based resort, that he “would testify” if summoned by the Senate during the impeachment trial. The former mayor also floated the idea that he may “do demonstrations” and would also “love to try the case.”

It is unclear whether or not Giuliani is suggesting that he would organize protests during the Senate trial; and, his enthusiasm notwithstanding, Giuliani won’t be serving on Trump’s legal defense despite being his personal lawyer.

To give Giuliani the benefit of the doubt, it is likely his remarks about being willing to testify were given to demonstrate his conviction that Trump is innocent of the charges made against him. Still, good intentions aside, he may have done more harm than good – Giuliani may have accidentally undermined Senate Republicans in no small way and pushed them into an increasingly difficult position.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has repeatedly affirmed his intent to forbid witness testimony during the impeachment trial, citing a desire for a speedy conclusion. While, unsurprisingly, Democrats have protested this move vigorously, virtually all Senate Republicans, with two notable exceptions, appear to agree with McConnell on having no witnesses.

Now, with Giuliani volunteering to appear as a witness, he has added unwelcome pressure to McConnell and other Republicans. After all, it would look rather odd for Republicans to block testimony from someone within Trump’s own camp, especially someone who has proven himself very loyal to the president.

No doubt Democrats would be more than open to having Giuliani testify, given his central role in the Ukraine scandal. By several accounts, Trump’s personal lawyer played a key role in pushing for legally questionable agreements between the White House and the Ukrainian government, including an investigation of Hunter Biden – but that’s assuming both that Giuliani won’t walk these statements back first and that Republicans will permit trial witnesses.