Giuliani pulls out of event featuring Putin: reports

By Tal Axelrod - 09/27/19 06:24 PM EDT
 

Rudy GiulianiRudy GiulianiGoogle to spend .5 million in fight against coronavirus misinformation Hillicon Valley: FCC chief proposes 0M telehealth program | Twitter takes down posts promoting anti-malaria drugs for coronavirus| Whole Foods workers plan Tuesday strike 12 things to know today about coronavirus MORE, President TrumpDonald John TrumpMilitary personnel to handle coronavirus patients at facilities in NYC, New Orleans and Dallas Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort has total of 20 patients: report Fauci says that all states should have stay-at-home orders MORE’s personal lawyer, appeared to back out of a conference in Armenia sponsored by the Kremlin that will include appearances by Russian President Vladimir PutinVladimir Vladimirovich PutinHow oil tariffs can unite strange political bedfellows Overnight Energy: Trump says global oil production could be cut by 15M barrels | Trump to rent storage space to oil producers | EPA defends move to suspend pollution monitoring Putin tells Russians to stay home all month amid coronavirus threat MORE and other Russian officials.

Giuliani told reporters at The New York Times and CNN that he will not participate in the event after a story from The Washington Post reported his involvement.

According to a schedule for the event, Giuliani was slated to participate in a panel led by Sergey Glazyev, a Putin associate who is under U.S. sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The agenda shows that Giuliani would have been the only American scheduled to speak at the conference.

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Giuliani’s appearance at the conference would have come days after the release of a whistleblower complaint saying Giuliani helped Trump pressure Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe BidenJoe BidenOvernight Health Care: Global coronavirus cases top 1M | Cities across country in danger of becoming new hotspots | Trump to recommend certain Americans wear masks | Record 6.6M file jobless claims The Memo: Scale of economic crisis sends shudders through nation The Hill's Campaign Report: Coronavirus forces Democrats to postpone convention MORE, one of the president’s chief political rivals. 

Giuliani, who participated in the event last year, confirmed to the Post earlier Friday that he planned on participating in the panel at the conference organized by Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union, a trade alliance Putin launched in 2014 to counterbalance the European Union. 

The former New York City mayor angrily dismissed questions from the Post about whether it was appropriate for him to participate in the event. 

“I will try to not knowingly talk to a Russian until it is all over,” he said.

Giuliani would be paid for his appearance but noted that any payment “goes to my company.”

Current and former White House aides expressed frustration to the Post over Giuliani’s behavior and that he does not clear his media appearances or paid speeches with the administration. National security experts also expressed concern that Giuliani’s appearance at next week’s conference could provide a boost to a top EU rival.

“It’s terrible judgement for the president’s lawyer to attend this meeting,” David Kramer, a former State Department official under President George W. Bush who oversaw Russia and Ukraine policy, told the Post. “He is lending credibility to an organization Putin set up as an alternative to the European Union. … This will further confuse people on top of the havoc he has already created for Ukraine.”

“I can’t remember anything like this,” added Michael McFaul, who served as U.S. ambassador to Russia in the Obama administration.

Tags Maggie Haberman Vladimir Putin Rudy Giuliani Donald Trump Joe Biden Dana Bash