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According to a recent report in The New York Times, President Donald Trump has discussed with Rudy Giuliani the possibility of a presidential pardon—and Giuliani is enraged at the paper for reporting the rumor.
Taking to Twitter to dress down the Times and call into question its honesty, Giuliani denied any discussion took place.
#FakeNews NYT lies again. Never had the discussion they falsely attribute to an anonymous source. Hard to keep up with all their lies.— Rudy W. Giuliani (@Rudy W. Giuliani) 1606837575.0
In the tweet, Giuliani used the familiar Trump administration refrain of "fake news" to denigrate The Times's reporting.
"#FakeNews NYT lies again. Never had the discussion they falsely attribute to an anonymous source. Hard to keep up with all their lies."
Written by senior reporters Maggie Haberman—who is known for scoops related to her close ties to Trump and Kushner—and Michael S. Schmidt, the report claimed Trump and his advisors discussed a pardon.
Trump discussed it with Giuliani himself just last week, though it is unclear who initiated the conversation. Giuliani also denied the report through his attorney, Robert Costello.
Speaking to The Hill, Costello repeated Giuliani's charges of dishonesty on the part of The Times.
"Rudy Giuliani has responded that this report is false and such a conversation never happened. That should clarify the situation. It is just another false attack."
The Times attributed its report to high-level sources within the administration who received briefings on the matter.
Giuliani has not been charged with any crimes, but has been under investigation. According to the report, Trump discussed issuing multiple pardons pre-emptively because he expects the incoming Biden Administration's Justice Department to pursue charges against his inner circle.
Trump reportedly also discussed pre-emptive pardons for three of his children, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump, as well as his son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
On Twitter, people were not buying Giuliani's denial.
@RudyGiuliani So sue them and present your massive evidence to the contrary?— james crump (@james crump) 1606837647.0
...and yet, you still felt the need to address said "lies" in a Tweet. Someone is feeling guilty... https://t.co/9noel0F14x— Luc Forgeron (@Luc Forgeron) 1606885588.0
You could stop the rumor right now by pledging not to accept a pre-emptive pardon. Until the President or the ghost… https://t.co/ZRO5Hkp5VK— Chris Miller (@Chris Miller) 1606881301.0
And, of course, some people couldn't help but take this opportunity to roast Giuliani.
@RudyGiuliani mister america's mayor sir, from which gumball machine did you receive your law license? I'd like to get one, too— Jeff Tiedrich (@Jeff Tiedrich) 1606838041.0
@RudyGiuliani Rudy means NYT as in New York Total Landscaping— Santiago Mayer (@Santiago Mayer) 1606837900.0
@RudyGiuliani Which hotel conference room, that you are pretending is a courtroom, will you be speaking at today to hold them accountable?— Mr. Newberger (@Mr. Newberger) 1606837891.0
@RudyGiuliani This isn’t the face of an innocent man. https://t.co/ubSNJ1IRVn— Jon Hyllested (@Jon Hyllested) 1606838063.0
🤡 https://t.co/dfeEtida44— Wisam I Am (@Wisam I Am) 1606887367.0
Any pardons Trump issues would apply only to federal crimes, leaving all parties exposed to criminal prosecution in state and local jurisdictions.
Trump and several people in his inner circle, including his children, are at the center of criminal investigations in the state of New York.