Giuliani Can't Say No One Colluded, Only That Trump Didn't

(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani said the president never colluded with Russia during the 2016 campaign, at the same time denying ever saying that no one on the campaign did so.

“I never said there was no collusion between the campaign, or people in the campaign,” Giuliani said during an interview on CNN’s “Cuomo Prime Time” show Wednesday night.

“I said the president of the United States. There is not a single bit of evidence the president of the United States committed the only crime you can commit here, conspiring with the Russians to hack the DNC,” he added, referring to the Democratic National Committee.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, whether Trump or any of his associates conspired in the operation and whether Trump obstructed justice.

Giuliani appeared to contradict his client’s past statements. Trump has repeatedly used the phrase “no collusion” on Twitter and in media interviews in denying his campaign was involved with any Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election.

In a statement on Thursday, Giuliani said his comments have been “misinterpreted.”

“I represent only President Trump, not the Trump campaign,” he said. “There was no collusion by President Trump in any way, shape or form. Likewise, I have no knowledge of any collusion by any of the thousands of people who worked on the campaign.”

Trump denials include a Jan. 4 tweet in which he said there were no grounds for impeaching a president who won “perhaps the greatest election of all time” and presided over a successful first two years in office.

On March 17, Trump said in a tweet that Mueller’s inquiry is based on fraudulent activities and his campaign committed no crimes. “The Mueller probe should never have been started in that there was no collusion and there was no crime,” he wrote. In April, he said “No collusion, all made up by this den of thieves and lowlifes!”

Giuliani also appeared to contradict his own past statements. The former New York City mayor called into Fox News in July, and Guy Benson asked him whether he denied flatly that there was collusion between the Trump campaign and Russians.

“Correct,” Giuliani said.

--With assistance from Shannon Pettypiece.

To contact the reporter on this story: Terrence Dopp in Washington at tdopp@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Derek Wallbank at dwallbank@bloomberg.net, Elizabeth Wasserman, Kathleen Hunter

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