Rudy Giuliani told a reporter that he has “very, very good insurance” if President Donald Trump ever decides to throw him under the bus.
In a phone interview with The Guardian, journalist Stephanie Kirchgaessner asked the president’s personal attorney if he was nervous that Trump might do such a thing. Giuliani reportedly responded to the question with a slight laugh: “I’m not, but I do have very, very good insurance, so if he does, all my hospital bills will be paid.”
His lawyer, Robert Costello, who was also on the call, then interjected: “He’s joking.”
The question comes in the wake of speculation from analysts that such a move may be in the cards, after closed-door testimony from multiple witnesses during the impeachment probe described Giuliani as having a central role in the conversations and actions that led to the inquiry.
A recent Axios report cited top House Republican sources as describing a potential GOP plan to distance Trump from Giuliani as part of an impeachment survival strategy. The report cited a well-connected Republican source as saying “Rudy will be cut loose because he was rogue.”
Asked by The Guardian whether he believed Trump would remain loyal to him, Giuliani said he believed the president to be a “very loyal guy.”
“I did what a good lawyer is supposed to do,” Giuliani reportedly said. “I dug up evidence that helped to show the case against him was false; that there was a great deal of collusion going on someplace else other than Russia. And then I stepped on the number one minefield, which is Joe Biden, who is heavily protected by the Washington press corps.”
Giuliani was subpoenaed as part of the House’s investigation into Trump’s alleged efforts to pressure the Ukrainian government into investigating 2020 political rival Joe Biden in exchange for U.S. military aid and a White House invitation. He is also being investigated by federal prosecutors in New York over his ties to Soviet-born Florida businessmen Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, who were charged and indicted with campaign finance violations, and allegedly aided Giuliani’s efforts to advance Trump’s interests in Ukraine.