Giuliani says he briefed Trump several times on rumors that the former US ambassador was thwarting efforts to investigate Trump's political rivals

• Rudy Giuliani said that he briefed President Donald Trump "a couple of times" about rumors which suggested that the former United States ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, was impeding efforts to investigate Trump's political rivals.
• In an interview with The New York Times on Monday, the president's personal lawyer said he spoke with the president at the beginning of this year and claimed that Yovanovitch was attempting to sabotage Trump on two fronts: by blocking investigations inside Ukraine, as well as impeding efforts by Giuliani to target Trump's rivals in the US.
• Giuliani said that after passing along the information, Trump connected him with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Giuliani claimed that Pompeo asked for more information, and, weeks later, Yovanovitch was suddenly ousted from her position.
• Giuliani's interview with The Times gives additional insight into how involved Trump was in efforts to push out Yovanovitch, following a report by The New Yorker that confirmed Giuliani's role in helping engineer the plan.
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Rudy Giuliani said that he briefed President Donald Trump "a couple of times" about rumors which suggested that the former United States ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, was thwarting efforts to investigate Trump's political rivals.

The president's personal lawyer told The New York Times in an interview on Monday that he passed along information to Trump pertaining to claims that Yovanovitch stalled efforts that could have benefitted him politically, including investigating former Vice President Joe Biden as well as Ukrainian nationals who distributed documents that harmed Trump's 2016 campaign and led to the resignation of Paul Manafort, Trump's former campaign chairman.

Giuliani added that he spoke with the president at the beginning of this year and claimed that Yovanovitch was attempting to sabotage Trump on two fronts: by blocking investigations inside Ukraine, as well as impeding efforts by Giuliani to target his rivals in the US.

He also said that he communicated "general gossip" that Yovanovitch had spoken poorly of the president but told The Times that he "did not relay that as fact."

Giuliani told The Times that after passing along the information, Trump connected Giuliani with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Giuliani claimed that Pompeo asked for more information, and weeks later, Yovanovitch was suddenly ousted from her position.

"There's a lot of reasons to move her," Giuliani told the outlet, adding that he felt Trump and Pompeo "relied" on the information he provided on Yovanovitch before she was recalled.

"I just gave them the facts," he said. "I mean, did I think she should be recalled? I thought she should have been fired. If I was attorney general, I would have kicked her out. I mean - secretary of state."

Giuliani's interview with The Times gives additional insight into how involved Trump was in efforts to oust Yovanovitch from her post, and follows a detail published by The New Yorker on Monday which confirmed Giuliani's role in helping engineer the plan.

He told The New Yorker's Adam Entous that he believed he "needed Yovanovitch out of the way" because she was "going to make the investigations difficult for everybody." He even compiled a dossier of conspiracy theories about the Bidens and Yovanovitch that he sent to Pompeo earlier this year.

Giuliani is reportedly the focus of a criminal investigation related to his efforts to undermine Yovanovitch, which may have broken lobbying laws.

Yovanovitch testified in October about Trump and Giuliani's smear campaign against her in the time leading up to her removal.

Giuliani's high-profile interviews come just days after the House Judiciary Committee approved articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump on two charges: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The House is expected to pass the articles in a vote this week, with the process then moving to the Senate for trial.