Biden camp responds after Giuliani's canceled trip to Ukraine
Biden camp responds after Giuliani's canceled trip to Ukraine
https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/11/politics/biden-response-giuliani-ukraine/index.html?utm_content=2019-05-12T15%3A15%3A02&utm_term=image&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twCNNp
Updated 9:49 PM ET, Sat May 11, 2019
President Donald Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, said Wednesday there was nothing illegal about Trump campaign advisers meeting with a Russian lawyer purportedly offering dirt on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
(CNN)Joe Biden's campaign has offered its first response after President Donald Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani said he would make a now-canceled trip to Ukraine to urge the country to investigate the Democratic presidential candidate.
"It's great to see all these strong progressive voices stand up to this attempt at a blatantly political smear which in and of itself reflects the urgent need for change and to restore the soul of the country," a Biden campaign official told CNN.
Friday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former Rep. Beto O'Rourke were among the 2020 Democratic contenders to express concern about Giuliani's efforts.
"I just think it is highly unethical for the President's personal lawyer to go meet with officials from foreign government to see if they can influence somehow the upcoming presidential election," Warren said in Kermit, West Virginia. "We've had enough of that and Rudy Giuliani should just back off."
In New Hampshire, O'Rourke said Giuliani's proposed trip to Ukraine was "so very troubling, very disappointing, and and yet not a total surprise, given this President's behavior and the pattern that he'd already set."
Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill also chimed in with criticism of the proposed trip.
"It's stunning that the Trump administration is going down the same tragic path they did in 2016. Here you have the President's lawyer seeking help from a foreign government again to influence a presidential election. It's just appalling," House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said Friday.
"And his defense that he's not seeking a foreign government's help in the election, just an investigation -- yes, it's an investigation designed to affect one of the candidates they fear the most. I think it's reprehensible."
Sen. Chris Murphy, who called for a Senate query on Giuliani's proposed trip to Ukraine before it was canceled, tweeted, "I know we've become numb to the corruption of this Administration, but this story should be the total focus of the political class today. The President is openly asking a foreign government to investigate his political rival. This is next level."
Giuliani revealed his intention to travel to Ukraine on behalf of his client in a Thursday interview with The New York Times, but by Friday night, that plan was canceled.....................................................