Reza Zarrab testifies against Rudy Giuliani
Even as the headlines are rightly dominated today by Michael Flynn’s guilty plea in the Trump-Russia scandal and his agreement to testify against Donald Trump, the domino that helped topple Flynn has also resulted in testimony against another key Trump campaign adviser. Reza Zarrab cut a deal with the Feds last week which ensured Flynn was screwed if he didn’t cut a deal of his own. But Zarrab also just testified against Rudy Giuliani.
Reza Zarrab has pled guilty to conspiring with the government of Turkey against the United States, and has provided evidence and testimony against everyone involved. That was bad news for Michael Flynn, who also conspired with Turkey against the United States. It’s equally bad news for Rudy Giuliani, who was caught trying to sabotage the Zarrab case earlier this year, prompting a judge to chase him into hiding.
Zarrab testified that Giuliani and former Attorney General Mike Mukasey tried to arrange a prisoner exchange that would have allowed Zarrab to return to Turkey, according to the Daily Beast (link). Although Zarrab said that he believes Giuliani’s actions were “within the legal limits,” that’s not for him to decide. The judge already asserted earlier this year that Giuliani’s actions were criminal when he ordered Giuliani to cease his behavior.
Depending on whether Rudy Giuliani took this prison exchange idea to Donald Trump, and what Trump’s reaction was, Reza Zarrab may have also just implicated Trump as well. If Trump and Giuliani knew that Zarrab’s testimony could end up taking down Michael Flynn and forcing him to cut a deal against Trump, then legally speaking, they committed obstruction of justice by trying to get Zarrab out of the country before he could be tried. This all means that Giuliani is completely screwed, and this day just keeps getting worse for Trump.
