Rudy Giuliani called President Trump this week to say he had been joking when he said he had an “insurance policy” in case the president turned on him, Giuliani’s attorney told Reuters on Wednesday.
Robert Costello told the news service that he insisted his client make the call after Giuliani said in a televised interview that he had an “insurance policy, if thrown under the bus.”
Giuliani has claimed the comments were sarcastic but also implied he was referring to possessing incriminating information on former Vice President Joe Biden rather than Trump.
{mosads}”He shouldn’t joke, he is not a funny guy,” Costello told Reuters. “I told him, ‘Ten thousand comedians are out of work, and you make a joke. It doesn’t work that way.'”
The claim comes as Trump, while maintaining that Giuliani is “a great guy,” has denied that his personal attorney’s dealings in Ukraine, which have been thrust into the spotlight amid the House impeachment inquiry, were at Trump’s behest.
That contradicts Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, who testified before the House Intelligence Committee that Trump directed him, former envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker and Energy Secretary Rick Perry to work with Giuliani on matters related to Ukraine.
Costello said that Trump and Giuliani’s relationship has not changed in recent weeks, telling Reuters that “they speak all the time.”