Michael Cohen: Rudy Giuliani Will “Absolutely” Rat Out Ivanka, Don Jr., and Trump to Save Himself

Ask Rudy Giuliani, or his son, Andrew, if the former mayor of New York City is in legal trouble at the moment, and you’ll undoubtedly get an eye-bulging, hands-flailing response that Donald Trump’s personal attorney has done nothing wrong in his life and that the only person who should be worried about his legal exposure is Hunter Biden. Obviously, that is not true at all given that (1) Giuliani’s multiyear quest to dig up dirt on the president‘s son uncovered nothing, and (2) experts say Rudy is very much in trouble. Calling Wednesday‘s raid on Giuliani‘s apartment and office an “extremely significant” escalation of the federal investigation into his Ukraine dealings, former U.S. attorney Preet Bharara said this week that there is a strong chance the former New York City mayor will be charged. At that point, prison could be in his future.

All of which makes Michael Cohen, who was once in a very similar situation, think Giuliani is “absolutely” going to turn on Trump to save himself. Appearing on CNN on Thursday, the ex-president’s former “fixer,” who was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to tax evasion and campaign-finance violations, predicted that Rudy is sweating profusely at the moment, and despite whatever he and his son claim, knows that he’s in trouble. Why? For starters, he ran the Southern District of New York, which is currently investigating him, from 1983 to 1989 and knows what kind of power it holds. “There’s no doubt that he’s nervous…. And it’s rightfully so that he’s nervous, because he knows the power of the SDNY is unlimited, and they use that power,” Cohen told Alisyn Camerota. Noting that Giuliani likely “has no interest in going to prison and spending the golden years of his life behind bars,” Cohen said, “Do I think Rudy will give up Donald in a heartbeat? Absolutely. He certainly doesn’t want to follow my path down into a 36-month sentence.”

Which, of course, would be an unfortunate turn of events for the ex-president who is already facing all kinds of legal trouble, not to mention potentially bad news for his children. “What’s ironic here,” Cohen told Camerota, “is the fact that these tactics of the Southern District of New York, in terms of bullying you into a plea deal, were created by Rudy Giuliani going back 30 years ago. And it’s just ironic that the tactics that he created for that office are now going to be employed against him, in terms of making him plead guilty and, certainly, at the least, turning over information about Jared, Ivanka, about Don Jr., about Donald himself, about all of these individuals in that garbage can orbit of Donald Trump.” He added that one cannot even imagine the trove of shadiness the Feds may uncover as a result of seizing Giuliani’s electronic devices:

Who knows what Rudy was involved with. What we’re going to find out is, there are text messages, there are emails, there are different types of communication apps that the FBI knows how to reestablish, even if Rudy, who I don’t think is technological, tried to—tried to delete or what have you…. And what happens is, they may be starting the investigation looking at things like the Ukrainian conversations between himself, Lev Parnas, and others [and then] you may end up finding that Jared Kushner was involved or Don Jr. or a host of other individuals in Trump’s orbit. And what happens then is that the Southern District, they end up expanding the probe….

We have no idea how expansive that this investigation is going to ultimately reveal itself, because Rudy’s an idiot. And that’s the problem. Rudy drinks too much. Rudy behaves in such an erratic manner that, who knows what’s on those telephones or what’s on his computers?

Asked if he thinks Donald Trump is scared about what may come out of the Rudy situation, Cohen said there was no question the ex-president is currently soiling himself. “He was afraid even when they raided my home and my law office,” Cohen said. “Because Donald Trump cares about only one person, and I say it all the time. He cares about only himself. So, he doesn’t care that they raided Rudy’s home. He doesn’t care that they raided Rudy’s law office. What is it going to do to affect me, is all that he’s thinking right now. What did stupid Rudy do? What did stupid Rudy write? What sort of text messages or emails? What sort of stupid things was Rudy up to that’s now going to implicate me? Because Donald knows he has enough trouble right now between Tish James and the attorney general’s office, as well as Cy Vance and the district attorney’s office here in New York…. He knows that he has all sorts of legal issues. He didn’t need more. That’s one thing I can assure you. He definitely didn’t need more. And Rudy is going to be, you know, a treasure trove. In all fairness, Merrick Garland is like Santa Claus, and Rudy’s devices are going to be like the presents that are waiting for you on Christmas day…. And what do I think? I think Rudy knows that he has trouble. I think Donald understands that Rudy will provide whatever information that he has to the SDNY.“

Asked if he thought his dad would, indeed, throw Trump under the bus to save himself, Andrew Giuliani gave a…not entirely convincing answer before changing the subject to—you guessed it—Hunter Biden.

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Biden buries Trump’s border-wall dreams in a shallow grave

Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, announce MAGA tour from hell

The Trump-loving representatives best known for allegedly paying women for sex (him, though he denies it) and bringing the batshit crazy (her) are hitting the open road to call out “the radical left” and fellow Republicans who haven’t showed adequate fealty to their lord and savior, Donald Trump. Per Politico:

Together, they plan to attack Democrats and call out Republicans they deem as insufficiently loyal to former President Donald Trump, such as the 10 GOP House members who voted for his second impeachment after the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. Gaetz and Greene will kick off their barnstorming “America First Tour” on May 7 in the mega-conservative Florida retirement community known as The Villages, a must-stop for any Republican candidate hoping to win the state or generate grassroots excitement. The idea is to send a message from the two controversial Republicans: They’re not canceled, they’re not going to be quiet and the infamy their critics attribute to them is translatable as fame and power in the conservative movement.

“The radical left is coming for you. And they know I’m in the way. Come stand with me as we fight back together against this radical president and his far left agenda,” Gaetz says in a new radio ad rallying conservatives to The Villages event.

Gaetz and Taylor Greene haven’t announced all their tour stops yet, but if you learn they’re coming to your city, maybe plan to get out of town for a while.

Florida takes a page from Georgia’s voter suppression playbook

The Sunshine State is also a big fan of disenfranchisement, per CNN:

The bill, which Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday night he will sign, will create restrictions such as adding new ID and signature requirements for voting by mail, limiting who can return a completed mail-in ballot, expanding partisan observation power during ballot tabulation and creating additional restrictions for drop box use. DeSantis said on Fox News Thursday night that he will “for sure” sign the bill.

The bill is part of a Republican-led effort nationwide to restrict voting access at the state level in the wake of record turnout in last November’s elections. A tally by the left-leaning Brennan Center for Justice at New York University found that 361 bills with provisions that restrict voting had been introduced in 47 states as of March 24. In the last month, the effort to restrict voting has intensified as state legislatures begin to head into the final months of their respective sessions.

“This bill is just a vindictive way of trying to punish people for an election that some people just didn’t like at the national level,” state Senator Audrey Gibson said this week during a debate over the legislation.

First Cat!

Major and Champ Biden are getting a new roommate:

Ruff times could be ahead for the Biden family dogs—they’re soon going to be joined at the White House by the family’s cat. “She’s waiting in the wings,” first lady Jill Biden told NBC’s Today show coanchor Craig Melvin of the first feline in an exclusive interview with her and President Joe Biden.

Melvin noted the addition might be especially difficult for the younger of the Biden’s two German shepherds, Major. The rambunctious three-year-old rescue dog has had some trouble adjusting to life in the White House and has received some additional training after allegedly being involved in a pair of “nipping” incidents earlier this year. Jill Biden said Major is prepared. “That was part of his training. They took him into a shelter with cats,” she said. “He did fine.”

That sounds worrisomely unconvincing but best of luck to all involved, particularly Major who may soon find a note next to his bowl reading, “This White House isn‘t big enough for the two of us.”

Elsewhere!

Biden Bans Travel From India as Coronavirus Cases Surge (Bloomberg)

Mask Requirement Extended for Planes, Other Transit in U.S. (Bloomberg)

Giuliani Rants About East Berlin and the iCloud in Bonkers Fox Interview (The Daily Beast)

From memes to race war: How extremists use popular culture more than ideology to lure recruits (Washington Post)

What Financial Advisers Are Telling Rich Clients About Biden’s Tax Hike (Bloomberg)

Joe Biden is proving progressives wrong. And they’re loving it. (NBC News)

SNL cast won’t be forced to appear with controversial host Elon Musk (NYP)

NYC apartment with shower in kitchen asks $2,500 a month (NYP)

— The Great Villain of the Financial Crisis Is Dead
— Inside the Antiracism Tug-of-War at an Elite NYC Private School
— Ivanka Trump’s Vaccine Selfie Didn’t Go Over as Planned
— The Clubhouse Party Is Over
— Will Bill Barr Spill the Beans on Donald Trump?
— Brett Kavanaugh Rules Children Deserve Life in Prison With No Chance of Parole
— With Eye-Popping Auctions, News Outlets Are Jumping on the NFT Gravy Train 
— From the Archive: Bernie Madoff’s World

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