Justice Dept. Weighs Special Counsel for Trump Inquiries if He Runs in 2020
The Department of Justice is examining whether and when to appoint a special counsel to investigate possible abuses of the federal law governing campaign financial disclosures.
But former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani told Fox News in an interview Wednesday that if President Trump runs for re-election, the Justice Department will use all the powers it has to get to the bottom of questions about his presidency and campaign finances.
“If I were president, I would be interested in trying to find out the truth,” he said. “And so if the Justice Department felt that they could make a very compelling case against the president of the United States, I would be very interested and interested to find out.”
Giuliani’s comments come in the aftermath of a New York Times report this week that said the Trump campaign had made improper payments to two women who alleged past affairs with Trump, including a $1,069 payment to a porn star who lost a baby.
The payments led to a criminal investigation at the Justice Department. The payments to Karen McDougal were allegedly made at the direction of Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen. The payments to Stephanie Clifford came after a series of magazine reports about sexual misconduct involving Trump.
The reports caused McDougal to file a sexual harassment lawsuit against Trump and Trump Organization executive Steve Bannon.
The Times also reported that former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his deputy, Rick Gates, had been paid millions of dollars to help Trump win the presidential election.
The Justice Department is now reportedly examining whether any of those payments were in violation of federal campaign finance laws.
Fox News’ Jennifer Bowman contributed to this report.
Trump Calls for Special Counsel to Investigate Potential FBI Agent, Mueller Interviews, Report, White House
The White House is insisting that its latest news developments should be taken into account when deciding who to appoint to lead a special counsel investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The administration on Wednesday released a statement after President Trump said he would ask