Giuliani defends Trump after January 6 committee points to his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election

rudy giuliani
Rudy Giuliani, attorney for US President Donald Trump, speaks at the White House in Washington, DC, on July 1, 2020Jim Watson/Getty Images
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • On his podcast, Giuliani said Trump "had nothing to do with" the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

  • Instead, he claimed Antifa members posed as Trump supporters, which the DOJ has said there was "no indication" of.

  • Giuliani said the select committee's hearings are an indication of a "fascist-type government."

Rudy Giuliani, former advisor and personal lawyer to Donald Trump, claimed in an episode of his podcast that the former president had "nothing to do with" the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

The episode, released Saturday, was a response to the House select committee's televised hearings related to the investigation into the events of Jan. 6, 2021. On Thursday, the committee released findings that indicated the events of the day were an attempted coup intended to keep former president Trump in power.

"I assure you, as I assured you about the stolen election, this was not an insurrection or a coup," Giuliani, who had his law license suspended over his oft-repeated lies about election fraud, said. "The president had nothing to do with it, and none of the people close to the president did."

Giuliani wrongly alleged, instead, that undercover Antifa members dressed as Trump supporters caused a majority of the damage during the riot. The Department of Justice has said there is "no indication" that was the case.

The hearings surrounding what happened on Jan. 6, Giuliani said, are illegitimate and a violation of the constitutional rights of those being investigated.

"And the way in which they're being treated is an indication of the fascist-type government that the Bidens, the Pelosis —  the socialists who always liked a fascist type-government, an authoritarian government — that they'll run as long as you keep them in office," Giuliani said.

In the 34-minute long podcast episode, the former mayor of New York attacked the credibility of the bipartisan select committee and alleged the hearings were a "made-for-TV" spectacle designed to promote what he called an authoritarian Democratic party and called for its destruction.

"It's up to you, what happens in this country," Giuliani said, speaking directly to listeners. "You've got to remember this: you gotta remember that this party needs to be destroyed at the top, because it's rotting at the top, and required to reform itself with basic American values."

Giuliani has made similar incendiary comments before, including at the rally before the insurrection, when he called for "trial by combat" to address election fraud claims.

Read the original article on Business Insider