Giuliani Suggests Mueller Probe Should Be Suspended, FBI Official Jailed Over Texts

Lawyer and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks at a press conference after appearing in court to call for the dismissal of a lawsuit filed against video game giant Activision by former Panamanian dictator... Lawyer and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks at a press conference after appearing in court to call for the dismissal of a lawsuit filed against video game giant Activision by former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega outside Los Angeles Superior Court in Los Angeles, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2014. Noriega sued the gaming giant in July 2014 claiming his likeness was used without permission in the company’s 2012 “Call of Duty: Black Ops II” game and that he was portrayed as a murderer and enemy of the state. In court, Giuliani noted that he could not sue for the numerous portrayals of himself in books and film and argued that Noriega should not able to sue Activision Blizzard Inc. for his portrayal. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) MORE LESS

June 15, 2018 7:54 a.m.

Start your day with TPM.

President Donald Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani used the recent release of a Justice Department inspector general report as just another pawn in his quest to pummel and discredit the probe into Trump and Russian interference in the 2016 election.

During an appearance on Fox News’ Sean Hannity show Thursday night, the increasingly unhinged lawyer suggested that special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe should be suspended “tomorrow” (Friday) and that FBI official Peter Strzok should be jailed by next week.

“I believe that Rod Rosenstein and Jeff Sessions have a chance to redeem themselves and that chance comes about tomorrow, it doesn’t go beyond tomorrow,” he said. “Tomorrow Mueller should be suspended and honest people should be brought it, impartial people to investigate these people like Strzok. Strzok should be in jail by the end of next week.”

Giuliani: Rosenstein and Sessions have one day to redeem themselves. Mueller Must Be Suspended Tomorrow. Strzok Must be Imprisoned with a Week. pic.twitter.com/HUNdzsiqmc

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) June 15, 2018

The slipshod messaging from Trump’s top lawyer comes in stark contrast with bipartisan warnings that Trump has received over the past year: Don’t fire Mueller.

But far-right Trump allies are using the highly anticipated DOJ IG report that dove into the FBI’s handling of its probe into Hillary Clinton’s use of private email as fodder for their case of a “deep state” within the FBI.

In the report, DOJ IG Michael Horowitz concluded that while some FBI officials, like Strzok and former director James Comey, deviated from departmental norms, their actions were not politically motivated.

New text messages exchanged between Strzok and former FBI lawyer Lisa Page were released as part of the report, revealing that Strzok told Page that “we’ll stop” Trump from reaching the White House. While Republicans have seized on the texts as incriminating evidence of their belief of an anti-Trump bias within the FBI, Strzok was investigating Clinton, not Trump, at the time the text was sent. Strzok even penned the first draft of the letter that Comey eventually sent to Congress announcing he had reopened the investigation into Clinton’s emails just days before the 2016 presidential election.

Democrats have lambasted Comey for the public announcement, claiming it was a negligent move that cost Clinton the election.

Start your day with TPM.

Nicole Lafond (@Nicole_Lafond) is TPM’s deputy editor, based in New York. She has also worked as the special projects editor and as a senior newswriter for TPM. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and previously covered education in central Illinois.

Have a tip? Send it Here!