Bullock says Giuliani should be ‘behind bars’

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D), a 2020 presidential candidate, said Wednesday that President Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani should be “behind bars” over his dealings with Ukraine.

“As [state] attorney general, I saw criminals along the way and knew when they were engaged in criminal behavior. You look at what Rudy Giuliani has done, using the White House — basically the Oval Office — to have meetings about foreign nationals,” Bullock said in a CNN interview.

“Here’s a guy right now that should be behind bars,” the governor added.

{mosads}Bullock also said that Attorney General William Barr should recuse himself from the matter because he was referenced in the rough transcript released by the White House of President Trump’s July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. In the call, which is at the center of House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry, Trump pressed for an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, telling Zelensky to coordinate with Giuliani and Barr.

“You look at Bill Barr, referenced five times in the transcript … this guy should recuse himself,” Bullock said.  

Trump has denied any wrongdoing in his relations with Kiev and repeatedly rejected the idea that there was any quid pro quo, despite the fact that that the call came days after he delayed hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Ukraine. 

Multiple witnesses in the House’s impeachment probe have said officials were uneasy with the foreign policy role played by Giuliani, who doesn’t have an official title in the administration.

Bullock is among more than a dozen people running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. Thus far, he has failed to make a significant impression in polling.