Giuliani trashes suggestion that his foreign business connections disqualify him from joining the Trump administration

AP/Gerald Herbert

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) during his 2008 presidential campaign.

Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani is responding to scrutiny over his foreign business connections as talk of him potentially joining the Trump administration continues.

In a CNN interview on Friday, Giuliani seemed to take umbrage at a suggestion that his paid work as a consultant to foreign governments was similar to accusations that Hillary Clinton engaged to pay-to-play schemes during her time as secretary of state under the Obama administration.

Giuliani himself was seen as a favorite for secretary of state, for president-elect Donald Trump.

"These comparisons to Hillary Clinton are nuts because I was in private business ... I'm not a government official," Giuliani told CNN's KFile on Friday.

According to CNN, Giuliani appeared on a Serbian talk show in 2012 where he discussed some of his work in the region. He says he was paid for the consulting work he provided.

In an interview with The New York Times on Tuesday, Giuliani said his business deals were nothing out of the ordinary.

"I have friends all over the world. ... This is not a new thing for me. When you become the mayor, you become interested in foreign policy. When I left, my major work was legal and security around the world," he said.

Giuliani is among a growing list of politicians who may join the Trump administration.

Trump continued to make appointments this week, tapping Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions as his attorney general, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn as national security adviser, and Rep. Mike Pompeo as CIA director.

Trump has also selected RNC chairman Reince Priebus as chief of staff and Breitbart chairman Steve Bannon to be his chief strategist.

Trump will be inaugurated on January 20.