Open mouth, insert … Giuliani!

Here we go again.  Did Giuliani, once again, say something he should not have said to the media, or was it planned?  The answer is both.

In a long interview last night, Rudy Giuliani, President Trump’s new counsel, told Sean Hannity that Trump did reimburse his personal attorney, Michael Cohen, the $130,000 paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 election in exchange for her silence about a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006.  That portion of the statement was, indeed, planned as the Mueller team and the Southern District US Attorney’s Office know Trump was lying when he said he never paid her because they have the bank statements, wires and the checks to prove that the money did come from the President himself.  So, this statement was not a Giuliani fumble but a conscience decision for the White House to let it slip out.  Using Giuliani, who has often made statements he should not have (“yes, it’s a Muslim ban”) was strategic.   The problem Trump now faces is whether he broke the election laws by paying Daniels.

But then Giuliani, during the interview, inserted his foot in his mouth.  In typical Giuliani fashion – as if trying to walk a tight rope with clogs, while denying it was campaign money, he stated, the money was “funneled” through Cohen’s firm.  He then went on to state that the money was used for unspecified “expenses” and not to pay Daniels.

The White House, again, was numbed by the statements, having no comment on the matter.