NEGOTIATING: Rudy Giuliani is trying to make a proffer deal with the DOJ
Rudy Giuliani used to be one of the nation’s most renowned prosecutors — someone who put mob bosses in jail — so he knows all about how possible defendants use proffers to lessen their vulnerability to criminal charges.
Now, Giuliani has offered a proffer to the DOJ investigating his activities surrounding the January 6th insurrection and the Trump campaign’s attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Proffers are only offered by people who believe they are threatened by charges and allow that person’s lawyers to approach the prosecution with a possible “deal.”
Late Wednesday, The New York Times reported that Rudy Giuliani’s lawyers offered Jack Smith’s team a proffer.
It would seem that Rudy has turned on Trump.
According to MSNBC’s Chris Hayes Show, Rudy’s disbarment hearing listed 43 provable lies Giuliani stated in court.
Presumably, Rudy Giuliani did not lie in court about Trump’s files down in Mar-a-Lago.
Jack Smith wants information on the alternate elector and election interference allegations.
The New York Times included the formal definition of a proffer in its report:
“A proffer agreement is an understanding between prosecutors and people who are subjects of criminal investigations that can precede a formal cooperation deal. The subjects agree to provide useful information to the government, sometimes to tell their side of events, to stave off potential charges or to avoid testifying under subpoena before a grand jury. In exchange, prosecutors agree not to use those statements against them in future criminal proceedings unless it is determined they were lying.”
It is critical that the “proffer” be made by the attorneys because of the universal rule that anything someone says can be used against them in a criminal proceeding.
Rudy presumably is still aware of this fact.
He just didn’t remember that lying in court can get a lawyer charged with perjury, sanctioned by the judge, and disbarred.
The Times report goes on to relay:
“Prosecutors working for Mr. Smith asked Mr. Giuliani about a plan to create fake slates of pro-Trump electors in key swing states that were actually won by Mr. Biden, one person familiar with the matter said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing criminal investigation. They focused specifically on the role played in that effort by John Eastman, another lawyer who advised Mr. Trump about ways to stay in office after his defeat.”
John Eastman is the same person who claimed “attorney-client privilege” in front of a respected Federal District Court Judge David O. Carter, who stated, according to Above The Law’s report:
“Their campaign was not confined to the ivory tower — it was a coup in search of a legal theory,” the court wrote. “The plan spurred violent attacks on the seat of our nation’s government, led to the deaths of several law enforcement officers, and deepened public distrust in our political process.”
One cannot help but conclude that Jack Smith is considering conspiracy charges in line with Judge Carter’s summation and that Rudy Giuliani had information regarding the conspiracy that he might relay for a “deal” with Smith.
We cannot know whether the proffer was accepted. If Rudy doesn’t have information that significantly helps the case, his proffer can be rejected, or the charges against him can be reduced.
It is also possible, obviously, that the prosecution will agree to drop all charges against Giuliani.
But Donald Trump can be relieved of any doubt that no matter how much the interview focused on John Eastman, Rudy testified against him.
I can be reached at jasonmiciak@gmail.com and on Twitter @JasonMiciak.
Editor’s note: This is an opinion column that solely reflects the opinions of the author.
