Rudy Giuliani said he has 'insurance' if Trump tries to throw him under the bus in the impeachment process

REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

Rudy Giuliani and then-candidate Donald Trump during the 2016 election campaign.

• President Donald Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, told The Guardian that he had "insurance" should the president seek to set him up as a fall guy as the impeachment probe heats up.
• Giuliani's own lawyer quickly interjected that the remark was a joke - but the answer is telling nonetheless.
• In recent days, reports have emerged that senior Republicans are mulling throwing Giuliani under the bus to distance Trump from the deal Giuliani was attempting to broker in Ukraine.
• Giuliani has denied any wrongdoing in relation to his activities in Ukraine, claiming that he was simply doing his job as Trump's defense attorney.
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President Donald Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, hinted that he had "insurance" should the president abandon him amid the impeachment probe.

In an interview with The Guardian, the former New York mayor was asked whether he was nervous should the president decide to throw him under the bus.

The House of Representatives is probing claims Trump abused his office in waging a pressure campaign, in which Giuliani played a key role, for Ukraine to announce a probe into Joe Biden.

"I'm not, but I do have very, very good insurance, so if he does, all my hospital bills will be paid," remarked Giuliani.

At this point in the call Giuliani's own attorney, Robert Costello, interjected to say: "He's joking."

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Even as a joke, the remark comes against a backdrop of suggestions that Giuliani could be cut loose by the Republican establishment in an effort to protect Trump.

As pressure on Trump continues to grow amid the first impeachment inquiry in two decades, reports are emerging that senior Republicans are considering using Giuliani as a fall guy.

Axios reported that they are mulling portraying him as a rogue actor who sought to broker a deal with Ukraine without the president's full knowledge.

Giuliani in the interview insisted that Trump is a "very loyal guy" who would not abandon an ally.

He said had spoken to him after the first day of the impeachment hearings Wednesday, in which the top US diplomat in Ukraine, Bill Taylor, and a top State Department official, George Kent, said Giuliani played a pivotal role in the campaign to pressure Ukraine to open the Biden probe, and to start a second probe into a conspiracy theory that Ukraine meddled in the 2016 election.

The impeachment inquiry is focussed on whether Trump corruptly sought to advance his own personal interest in seeking the probes, and used withheld held military aid as leverage.

Giuliani maintains he's done nothing wrong, as was simply doing his job as Trump's attorney in seeking the probes.

"I acted properly as his lawyer," Giuliani told The Guardian.

"I did what a good lawyer is supposed to do. I dug up evidence that helped to show the case against him was false; that there was a great deal of collusion going on someplace else other than Russia.

"And then I stepped on the number one minefield, which is Joe Biden, who is heavily protected by the Washington press corps."