Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani may find himself thrust into the middle of Washington politics as his name cropped up as the next attorney general.
His first task? Whether or not to pursue a case against Hillary Clinton over the use of private servers for government correspondence while she was with the Department of State, as well as influence peddling under the Clinton Foundation.
But in an interview with Fox News Live, as shared by Daily Mail , Giuliani was noncommittal about that possibility.
“One is we try to get over the anger and everything else about an election after it’s over and put it behind us,” he said.
“And I don’t like to see America become a country in which we prosecute people about politics.”
Rudy Giuliani: I don’t think President Obama should pardon Hillary Clinton, the system should determine if she is innocent or guilty. pic.twitter.com/jjPGnNMqNN
— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) November 10, 2016
But then again, he said there are some “deep and disturbing issues” surrounding the Clinton Foundation and the email scandal that the incoming administration might not be able to overlook.
Giuliani also cautioned the Obama administration against pardoning Clinton for past transgressions.
“President Obama should leave it to the system we all believe in to determine if she’s innocent or if she’s guilty,” he explained.
He said President Obama owes the public the truth about the alleged shady deals that Clinton entered into for the benefit of the Clinton Foundation.
“What do you say to a foundation where you have a fraud of $50,000 when you haven’t looked at a foundation where there’s an alleged fraud of millions or hundreds of millions of dollars,” Giuliani said.
“Now it may be true or it’s not true but it hasn’t been investigated,” he added.
“That’s why I don’t think President Obama should pardon her.”
The Corrupt Clinton Foundation Should be Shut Down! https://t.co/XXvpj1881t
— Judicial Watch???? (@JudicialWatch) November 11, 2016
Giuliani has been front and center of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, often picking fights against Clinton on the billionaire’s behalf.
The New York Times noted that Giuliani’s gamble had paid off when he threw his support behind Trump, even if the number of critics against him ballooned over the last few months (with not a few questioning his mental acumen).
I guess Rudy Giuliani is on one of the morning shows today. I always go back to this oral history of his temper: https://t.co/vGMHjCjQj0
— jon greenberg (@jon_greenberg) November 13, 2016
But Manhattan Institute fellow Fred Siegel suggested that the former mayor’s association with the President-elect is not so illogical when you think about their mutual cause. He said that Giuliani was also working for the middle – or the lower-middle class who might have felt ostracized by the Obama administration.
“He’s not crazy; far from it,” Siegel said.
“He sees this as a chance to return to the national stage. If you ask Trump questions about law and order and dig down half an inch, what you find is Rudy.”
In another interview with CNN , Giuliani was again asked about Clinton, specifically, if he will accept the attorney general’s post if it comes with a condition of prosecuting the former first lady. Instead of answering the question directly, he replied that it’s going to be a “presidential decision.”
The former mayor said that he has yet to talk to Trump about the issue.
“We would have to talk about what the — what the ramifications of that to other prosecutions, future prosecutions — how would you cover that, suppose more evidence came forward a year from now that we don’t know now that makes it a much worse situation,” he explained.
He said if all the reports surrounding the Clinton Foundation have been exaggerated and there’s not much crime there, the Trump administration may be able to forget it if only to follow the long-held political tradition of moving on after the elections.
Trump administration could mean new life for Clinton Foundation probe https://t.co/Ac8mEeX1WN pic.twitter.com/UVt20rc1kn
— CNN (@CNN) November 11, 2016
But if there is indeed a crime that has been committed, and it was as bad as the reports, then Trump will have no choice but to order an investigation, Giuliani added.
[Featured Image by Joseph Raedle, Getty Images]
