President Donald Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani said any Republican who is against overturning the November election results should be removed from the party, labeling several GOP lawmakers in Pennsylvania and Arizona "liars" and a "disgrace."
Giuliani told Arizona Governor Doug Ducey he "should join another political party" alongside any Republican state legislators who have failed to assist Trump's legal team in overturning President-elect Joe Biden's victory. Giuliani explained Trump and Vice President Mike Pence's final legal options to remain in office included their submission of "two sets of state electors" for Congress to count this week. Giuliani said one outcome that allows Trump to remain in office is if "you can't determine a winner, but you can determine the election was illegal."
Giuliani laid out the legal options for Pence to refuse to count at least six states where "confusing" results were contested by Trump. Making several demands for party loyalty on conservative Charlie Kirk's podcast, Giuliani said the GOP should be taking down the names of anyone "not supporting us."
Giuliani railed against the "coward" Senate Republicans who are not joining the 12 "sedition caucus" members who plan to disrupt Wednesday's Electoral College vote count. The former New York City mayor said Pennsylvania's election officials are a "disgrace," and he called Georgia GOP Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger "a liar."
As a testament to his self-proclaimed loyalty to the Republican Party, Giuliani suggested GOP leaders begin tracking who is voting against Trump's interest.
"We should write down the names of all these senators who aren't supporting us and have serious consideration as to whether they really belong in the Republican Party," Giuliani told Kirk. "I believe we're asking them to save the country, and they're running off like cowards."
Giuliani, who has been leading the president's legal effort, said in the podcast interview that the team had been consulting with constitutional law professors and analyzing Pence's options. He said Trump and Pence on Monday were "going through all of the research" and would probably wait until Tuesday to make a decision on how to proceed.
"The president will make this decision based on his judgment and the advice that he gets on what the Constitution demands," Giuliani told Kirk.
Newsweek reached out the White House as well as Giuliani's legal offices for additional remarks Tuesday afternoon.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Benjamin Fearnow is a reporter based out of Newsweek's New York City offices. He was previously at CBS and Mediaite ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
