7:21 p.m. ET, October 25, 2019
Rudy Giuliani talks money and Bidens in dual accidental phone calls to reporter
From CNN's Caroline Kelly and Dana Bash
Rudy Giuliani, President Trump's personal lawyer, left two apparently
unintended voicemails on a reporter's phone this fall in which he discussed his need for hundreds of thousands of dollars and disparaged the Biden family, NBC reported on today.
The unwitting calls and messages from Giuliani, colloquially called "buttdials," come as sources tell CNN that Giuliani has been approaching defense attorneys for possible representation following escalating reports regarding a federal investigation into his dealings in Ukraine.
"Tomorrow, I've got to get you on Bahrain. You've got to call," Giuliani tells an unidentified associate in an Oct. 16 voicemail posted by NBC.
"The problem is we need some money," Giuliani later adds when referencing a "Robert" who the unidentified associate said was in Turkey, pausing for several seconds before specifying, "We need a few hundred thousand."
Giuliani told CNN's Dana Bash today that the voicemail is "helpful because it shows that I don't do anything dishonest," saying it was completely unrelated to anything in Ukraine but declined to specify to what it was related.
"The $200,000 is for another project in another country," Giuliani said. He called the project a "non-legal security matter" completely unrelated to anything related to Ukraine or Trump, but declined to specify what it was related to.
Giuliani said that the call pertained to a "change in personnel on a different project" that "will require an additional charge for the client."
Giuliani has some previous ties to Bahrain, a key ally of Saudi Arabia. His former massive law firm Bracewell Giuliani previously worked on financial deals for Bahrain.