The January 6 Rudy Giuliani Mystery

By David Corn  August 5, 2022

A video of Rudy Giuliani is displayed on a screen at a hearing of House select committee investigating the January 6 riot. J. Scott Applewhite/AP

The other day I received an email from Rudy Giuliani. He noted that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s House “is ruthlessly trying to DESTROY every single one of President Trump’s most loyal confidantes.” He claimed that “the Left had been trying to FRAME innocent people close to President Trump.” For example…Rudy Giuliani! Pointing out that the FBI raided his apartment and seized his electronic devices, Trump’s chief henchman whined, “as the lawyer who defended him from TWO impeachment witch hunts, the Deep State has been calling for my head. You’re my only hope of staying free.” He asked me to contribute to his legal defense fund. At the end of the solicitation was a photograph of a young, vigorous Rudy from his days as a crusading federal prosecutor who went after mobsters and Wall Street crooks.

These days, sandals huckster Giuliani continues to push one of the most dangerous swindles in American history: Donald Trump’s false claim that the 2020 election was fraudulent. How about making a deal, Mr. Giuliani? I will contribute to your Rudy Giuliani Freedom Fund, if you answer a key question raised during the last hearing held by the House committee investigating the January 6 riot Trump incited: What did you discuss with Trump while the attack on the Capitol was underway?

The July 21 hearing focused on what Trump did—or rather, did not do—as the armed marauders he directed toward Capitol Hill assaulted law enforcement officers, ransacked the Capitol, and tried to block the certification of the 2020 electoral vote. Testimony from witnesses showed that for about three hours Trump repeatedly rebuffed aides and family members begging him to intervene. He did not even bother to contact law enforcement or military authorities while domestic terrorists attacked the citadel of American democracy. But according to the committee, Trump did speak twice to Giuliani during the melee. What did he say? We don’t know.

We do know that throughout that day Giuliani was phoning Republican senators and representatives and pressing them to stop the certification of the electoral vote, the same demand he made during his speech at the pre-riot rally. On behalf of Trump, he reached out to at least six legislators: Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Ted Cruz (R-Tex.). His calls to the lawmakers came even after Trump’s rioters had rampaged at the Capitol and urged the hanging of Vice President Mike Pence.

It's a good bet that while the whole world was watching the horrendous violence of Trump’s mob, Trump and Giuliani were discussing how this was affecting their plan to thwart certification—which was essential for Trump’s attempted coup. They even might have been considering how best to exploit this tragic moment: weighing whether it was in Trump’s interest to call for the riot’s halt or to let the insurrectionist assault continue.

Giuliani is an eyewitness and a participant to one of the most critical moments in American history. He might have watched Trump abandon his sworn obligation to defend the United States and the Constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic. The once much-admired former New York City mayor can tell the American public what may have been in Trump’s conniving mind and dark heart, as the then-president sat in his private dining room and gazed at ghastly footage of terrorist violence being broadcast live on Fox News.

Of course, Giuliani won’t. And not merely because of attorney-client privilege. (Just to be clear, attorney-client privilege does not cover communications related to the commission of fraud or a crime.) Giuliani is not just a witness, he’s also a perp, a co-conspirator with Trump in the big con claiming election fraud. As Rusty Bowers, the speaker of the Arizona state House, testified to the January 6 committee, Giuliani told him that he and Trump had theories but no evidence of election fraud. He was flim-flamming throughout the post-election period—which is why he and other Trumpers lost 60 court cases. Giuliani’s silence protects not just Trump but also himself. He was his client’s partner in betraying the United States.

The tale of the two Trump-Giuliani phone calls—which has not received much media attention—should not be forgotten. Giuliani must be pressed to recount these conversations so that the public will be given a fuller picture of what the commander-in-chief was thinking during those three hours of silence that day. Dan Friedman, my colleague at Mother Jones, did reach out to Giuliani’s attorney on this matter, and never heard back from him. I’m hoping the committee can do more on this front. Giuliani deserves a public pummeling for not disclosing what he and Trump chatted about as Trump deliberately did nothing to quash his brownshirts’ raid on the Capitol. Instead of being a stand-up guy and giving Americans the truth, the onetime Mafia-buster is sticking to the omerta of the Trump cult, while trying to claim hero status and squeeze donations from its zombie members.

Got anything to say about this item—or anything else? Email me at ourland@motherjones.com.

American Psychosis Tease of the Week and Special Offer

The response to my request (plea?) for preorders of my forthcoming book American Psychosis: A Historical Investigation of How the Republican Party Went Crazy has been rather encouraging. My heartfelt thanks to the many of you who have purchased the book in advance of its September 13 release. If you missed the initial news of this book, you can find it here. As I’ve explained to friends, family, and colleagues (and Moxie), during the darkest days of the Trump era, I searched in vain for a book that chronicled the decades-long effort of the Republican Party to encourage and exploit far-right extremism, bigotry, and paranoia. So I decided to write this tale of the dark side of the GOP myself. As I’ve noted in previous issues of this newsletter, preorders are crucial to a successful launch of the book because booksellers (Amazon, the remaining chain bookstores, and independent book shops) decide how many copies to order and how vigorously to push a book in part on preorders. Consequently, you can be an influencer by ordering a book prior to its release. To make that task easier in the case of American Psychosis, I’ve arranged for Our Land readers to get a special discount for preorders. Click HERE for 35 percent off a signed copy of American Psychosis and help me spread the word that the GOP’s relationship with extremism did not start with Trump. It’s been a driving force of the party for over 70 years.

Now for another sneak peak of what’s inside the book: In 1960, when Richard Nixon was running for president, many prominent Republicans were pushing for him to alter the party’s strategy regarding Black voters. As the Party of Lincoln, the GOP had been the choice for many Black voters. But Sen. Barry Goldwater and others believed that the South, long a reliable voting bloc for Democrats, could be won over by appealing to racist voters with a message of states’ rights and limited government. Such themes would play well with Southern voters opposed to federal efforts to advance the rights of Black people. In essence, these Republicans proposed dumping the Black voters of the North for white voters in the South who opposed anti-segregation measures. Nixon said no and stuck to the party’s traditional position of appealing to Black voters. And he lost narrowly to John Kennedy, who, with Texas Senator Lyndon B. Johnson as his running-mate, won most of the South.

That was then. When Nixon sought the presidency again eight years later, he flipped his position. He made a deal with Sen. Strom Thurmond, the South Carolina segregationist, to appoint conservative judges who would not support far-reaching civil rights action. In return, Thurmond made sure the Southern Republican bosses stuck with Nixon, rather than support rising star Ronald Reagan, then the governor of California. And Nixon developed what would become known as the Southern strategy of allying himself with the South’s racists to win Dixie’s votes. During the GOP convention that year, he told a top aide to promise Thurmond and other racist Southerners that Nixon would “lay off pro-Negro crap.” American Psychosis details how the calculating Nixon got into bed with white supremacists and exploited racism to nab the GOP nomination and the presidency.

The Dog Days

For Moxie, these are the dog days of summer. She gets to go to the beach, find dead things, and roll in them. What could be better? (“Please shut off the MoxieCam™,” she says on such occasions.) In deference to her schedule and her need for a break after months of hard work helping me finish a book—she’s a pretty sharp factchecker—we’re taking next week off. See you soon. By the way, if you’re on Cape Cod, feel free to come see me give a talk at the Truro Meeting House on August 14 at 7:00 pm. More information here.

Dumbass Comment of the Week

For sheer nauseating evil and mendacity, Alex Jones, the loudmouth conspiracy theorist, could be the winner every week. He is constantly spewing swill that unfortunately convinces his unfortunately large audience to believe all sorts of BS, and he has helped spread QAnon crap and other manifestations of the right-wing conspiracism that has taken a deep hold within the Republican Party. Consequently, it is rewarding to see Jones face consequences for his sins. Jones, who claimed the horrific 2012 mass shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut was a government-staged hoax (a false flag operation!), has lost multiple defamation lawsuits filed against him by grieving and appalled relatives of the victims. This week he was in court in Austin for proceedings to determine how much he will have to pay. (The families asked for up to $150 million.) Not surprisingly, things didn't go well for him. Jones was forced to concede in court that the Sandy Hook massacre, in which 26 people, including 20 children, were murdered, was indeed real. He behaved belligerently on the stand, and on Wednesday there was this courtroom shocker: An attorney for the plaintiffs revealed that Jones’ lawyers had mistakenly sent the entire contents of Jones’ cell phone to the Sandy Hook families’ legal team. This included all his emails and texts for recent years, as well as financial records for his InfoWars operation. The material indicates that he made false statements during the case and that InfoWars might rake in as much as $300 million a year. (Several of Jones’ media company have filed for bankruptcy in the past few months—perhaps as a legal ruse to escape whatever fine is heading his way in the defamation cases. ) On Thursday, the jury decided Jones had to pay the family of one Sandy Hook victim $4.1 million for emotional distress and reputational damage caused by his false claims. The jury was then to determine whether to award the plaintiffs punitive damages.

This cell phone slip-up was certainly the dumbass legal move of the week. The House January 6 committee quickly moved to subpoena the cell phone records (Jones promoted Big Lie conspiracy theories and the January 6 protest that turned into a riot.) And who knows what other malfeasance might be revealed within this material? But none of the courtroom activity slowed down Jones’ fearmongering. On Tuesday, Jones went on a rant on his InfoWars talk show, claiming the media and Democrats were conspiring to shut him down. Then he assailed the “crazed mob of the left” and the judges who have handled the various cases against him:

They're all caricatures of what you would imagine in some alternate universe of dwarf goblins. It's demonic. They all act demonically possessed. The judge, the lawyers. It's surreal to be around them. And it makes you feel sorry for them because these people are committed to occult ideology of the new world order. And they're never gonna stop. They're getting rid of all the checks and balances, all our basic freedoms, they've gutted the border, they're promoting pedophilia everywhere, they are just annihilating the social contract. They are destroying our country by design. They have been turned loose.

Is it accurate to label Jones’ business-as-usual rhetoric exceptionally idiotic?  A 9/11 truther, Jones has been uttering recklessly false remarks for many years, claiming a global cabal of baby-eating evildoers and pedophiles is running the world and promoting every nutty conspiracy theory you can imagine. (FEMA concentration camps!) He does this purposefully and clearly pockets an astonishing amount of revenue. But his efforts are far from harmless; they contribute to the dumbing-down of the nation’s political discourse and the dissemination of propaganda that can be weaponized. Not surprisingly, he endorsed Trump during the 2016 campaign, and he was praised by the reality TV celebrity when Trump appeared on his talk show. “Your reputation is amazing,” Trump told Jones. “I will not let you down.” At the GOP convention in 2016, Jones, paraded into the hall wearing a special guest badge. Calling judges, Democrats, and others “demonically possessed” and committed to “occult ideology” is loony. But in this instance, it’s particularly stupid, given that Jones is appearing in a courtroom before a judge presiding over a case to determine how many millions of dollars Jones will have to pay for spreading disinformation. For not knowing when to shut the F up, Jones wins this week.

The Mailbag

It’s the lazy days of summer. But Our Land readers have been quite active in responding to recent issues. In response to my article about fearing the spread of Christian nationalism, several noted that mainline, non-fundamentalist Christians needed to step up. Lee N. wrote:

You comment that the Christian extremists are a small part of the greater Christian population in the US. Therefore, isn't it time to ask the non-extremist non-violent Christians to denounce the violent extremists in their greater presence?  We did this for Muslims after 9/11. Second thought it seems to me that Christian extremism is an international problem. You mentioned Orban in Hungary, but many other parts of the world have Christian extremist governments or parties.

And Rich Schrenker emailed:

Agree with your argument. It is more than worrisome. I wish non-Christians would ramp up the heat not on the nationalists but rather those of us who are Christian and see the nationalists as anything but. Christian nationalism is a repugnant oxymoron to me and almost certainly every member of my Evangelical Lutheran Church in America congregation. I would guess that would hold for the vast majority of ELCA members (at least on the coasts; the Midwest is another story). I would also guess that holds for faith communities like the Episcopal church, American Baptists (but not Southern), UCC, and others. But good luck getting our leaders to raise their voices in a manner that demands attention. Many of us have tried to make that happen but without much success. I have my guesses as to why, but so what? What matters is finding a way for actual Christians to push back on those fascist rat bastards.

And there’s the rub. Our leaders are like Democratic politicians, afraid to say out loud what they worry may offend (and/or empty a few pews). Maybe Mother Jones and others could start asking various mainline Christian leaders what they think of Christian nationalism and what if anything they are doing to push back on it?

These are good ideas from Lee and Rich. We’re certainly not going to persuade most Christian nationalists to give up their crusade. Pressuring other leaders who are Christian and of other faiths to explain and denounce Christian nationalism might help prevent this threat from spreading.

Thomas C. Johnson chimed in:

I am writing to thank you for expressly denoting that so-called Christian nationalists do not represent the traditional Christian faith. As an evangelical Christian from childhood (with two graduate degrees from a leading evangelical seminary), it is heartbreaking to see people like those referred to in the article professing a faith that they clearly do not embrace nor understand. They claim the label of Christian while representing beliefs and behavior that are antithetical to the faith. Too many in the media link anyone claiming to be Christian with the Christian faith as it really is. Regrettably, the Christian church in its humanness has so far failed to create the unity and devotion that Christ prayed for. But its goals are still for the best for humankind, even for the Christian nationalists.

I respect Johnson’s faith in the redemptive power of Christianity. But as an agnostic (on a good day), I wonder if the lofty goals of Christianity truly offset the damage done by those who believe they are the true believers. But that’s an unresolvable debate for another day.

Allan Everson sent this note:

Please continue to try to inform and warn the sector of the American people who might still listen to reason. I am 80 years old and was a moderate Republican my whole life until about seven or eight years ago when I realized that the extreme rightwing cared only about defeating their opposition, not putting forward what might benefit America. Then the emergence of the amoral narcissist Trump became the final straw. I have become more and more terrified every year about the future of our wonderful country. In addition to all of this, now the threat of Christian nationalism is almost too much bear. When I grew up, “middle of the road” [?] was not a derogatory term and understanding and compromise were desired actions. A country as diverse as America must value tolerance and freedom of thought, not antisemitism and racism. 

Chris Lowrie had a reading suggestion:

I highly recommend Daniel Silva’s book The Cellist for a well-researched look behind the events that led to the totally unqualified and illegal election of Donald Trump in 2016. Silva’s afterword is a work of art on its own!

I was unfamiliar with this thriller. But I see from the description it involves Vladimir Putin, Russian kleptocracy, and Moscow plotting against the United States. Perhaps it’s a good fictional counterpart to my book, co-written with Michael Isikoff, Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin’s War on America and the Election of Donald Trump. I’m guessing the title refers to Russian cellist Sergei Roldugin, an old friend of Vladimir Putin, who has been linked to offshore companies controlling up to $2 billion. That’s money he did not make playing Stravinsky.

Christopher Madden emailed:

What the heck David? I wanted to take you up on your pre-order offer, clicked on the link and filled out the form all ready to go for 19 bucks and a signed copy. Since you don’t take Paypal, I had to retrieve my credit card from the office which took a couple days, you know, and now the form is gone, the order page is different, the price is higher and who knows about the signed copy. If there was an expiration date to the deal I wish I knew it….

Christopher, I have no idea what happened. But you will be relieved to know that the special offer for American Psychosis was not rescinded. It remains—$19.50 for a signed edition!—as does the order page. Check it out HERE.

And Mark Heinicke had a similar complaint:

I was ordering your book which was priced on Porchlight at $24.00 with your discount—nice—but I when I clicked on shipping options it said UPS ground was $20.58.... You are a terrific journalist and I wish you the best with this book. I look forward to reading it—whenever. Getting your signature would be great but I don't know about $20.58.

Don’t know about this, either, Mark. And I wouldn’t pay that amount for shipping. The price for the book on the page is $19.50, and when I gave the order a shot, my shipping cost was $5.60. I’m guessing you ran into a glitch or a gremlin. Please try once more.

An unidentified reader wrote:

Hey David, will your book be in talking book format?

Indeed, it will be. I helped select the reader (voice artist?) for the job. I think you will like the book as read by him.

Nicholas Sinisi had an important point to raise:

Couldn't agree more about Stranger Things, David. It’s gotten way too overblown. The gore and graphic violence are particularly off-puttin—nightmare fuel! Unfortunately, we can expect the final season to be even more overblown and operatic. And now that Netflix is rapidly shedding subscribers (the last season was pretty much the only thing that kept people watching) they're sure to milk their remaining meal ticket to the nth degree—sequels, spinoffs ad nauseum. Yuck!

Margaret Garigan did not fully concur:

There seem to be few things in this world on which I don’t see eye-to-eye with you, but on this one thing I must disagree: You’re a whole season late in declaring Stranger Things to have jumped the shark. The actual moment of jumpage was Season 3, episode 2 (“Mall Rats”), when the kids are prancing around a mall trying on sunglasses, drinking sodas, and playing pranks while Madonna’s “Material Girl” plays. I guess it was meant to be cute and nostalgic, but it came off as gratuitous and kind of desperate. I turned it off in the middle of the scene and haven’t watched since. Glad I could help set the record straight!

Thanks, Nicholas and Margaret. I am happy to have finished this latest installment of Stranger Things and have returned to Better Call Saul, the best show on television. I dare anyone to deny that.

MoxieCam™

“Moxie, where are you heading?”

“It’s not the destination. It’s the journey.”

“You’re right. I forgot.”

“And did you bring my ball?”

Photo by Betsy Cohn.

Read Recent Issues of Our Land

July 29, 2002: We need to worry about Christian nationalism; American Psychosis tease of the week; Stranger Things jumps a ghoulish shark; Steve Earle honors his forebears; Joni Mitchell’s glorious return; MoxieCam™; and more.

July 23, 2022: Trump’s trap for the GOP; American Psychosis update and tease; Dumbass Comment of the Week (John Cornyn); the Mailbag; MoxieCam™; and more.  

July 19, 2022: Announcing the forthcoming release of American Psychosis; Breitbart gets something right; The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent and The Player (three decades later!); Simon Winchester’s The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology; and more.

July 16, 2022: Does Steve Bannon buy his own BS?; Dumbass Comment of the Week (Catherine Glenn Foster, Lauren Boebert, and Dave Yost); the Mailbag; MoxieCam™; and more.

July 12, 2022: It’s about sex; Iran-contra flashback: the day reality died; a dangerous state Supreme Court decision; and more.

July 9, 2022: Why did the Atlantic enable Mitt Romney’s dangerous both-sidesism?; Dumbass Comment of the Week (Marjorie Taylor Greene, again); the Mailbag; MoxieCam™; and more.

July 2, 2022: Mark Meadows: one helluva liar; Dumbass Comment of the Week (Ali Alexander); the Mailbag; MoxieCam™; and more.

June 28, 2022: The lessons from the right’s 50-year-long crusade to limit the freedom of women; the end of Ozark; and more.

June 25, 2022: Hooray for the Trump Republicans who saved the nation—or not?; Dumbass Comment of the Week (Clarence Thomas); the Mailbag; MoxieCam™; and more.

June 21, 2022: Is Trump’s GOP getting even crazier?; George Carlin and the American Dream; Alexei Navalny’s nightmare; and more.

Got suggestions, comments, complaints, tips related to any of the above, or anything else? Email me at ourland@motherjones.com.