Former New York City mayor and personal attorney to US President Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, said this weekend that he is preparing lawsuits against key Democrats as a means of attempting to fend off impeachment proceedings against the president, as reported by Yahoo news.
Giuliani, a former federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York, claimed that he and a collection of lawyers, including "a very established law firm”, are collecting public statements to try to prove that House Intelligence chairman Adam Schiff of California and other House Democrats are attempting to "deprive" Trump of his civil rights in a “conspiracy to remove the president at all costs". Giuliani also accused Schiff of trying to “inhibit" the former's ability to defend his client.
The Brooklyn-born lawyer also accused US Representative Rashida Tlaib of agreeing with comments, a move he suggested was witness intimidation, from a speaker who said that officers should “hunt down” White House officials who do not comply with subpoenas.
Trump personally tweeted at House Democrats on Monday for attempting to remove him from office via impeachment, including a scathing tweet-storm against Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi for knowing "all the many Shift Adam Schift lies".
....This makes Nervous Nancy every bit as guilty as Liddle’ Adam Schiff for High Crimes and Misdemeanors, and even Treason. I guess that means that they, along with all of those that evilly “Colluded” with them, must all be immediately Impeached!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2019
Giuliani's remarks come amid ongoing impeachment proceedings against Trump by House Democrats after allegations of abuse of power emerged following a whistleblower complaint about a 25 July phone conversation between the US president and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Trump is accused of pressuring the Ukrainian president by threatening to remove military assistance from Ukraine unless Zelensky's aides opened an investigation into allegations of corruption surrounding former Vice President Joe Biden and his son.
An impeachment proceeding requires a simple majority vote in the House of Representatives followed by a trial in the Republican-dominated Senate, although a two-thirds majority is required to actually remove a president from office.
