Giuliani says he won’t comply in impeachment inquiry, parts ways with lawyer ‘for now’

NEW YORK — Rudy Giuliani dared House Democrats to take him to court Tuesday, declaring he won’t comply in their “abomination” of an impeachment inquiry despite facing a subpoena over his campaign to find political dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden in Ukraine.

Having decided to not cooperate, the ex-mayor said he has parted ways with his attorney, Jon Sale, for the time being, claiming it would be “silly to have a lawyer when I don’t need one.”

However, Giuliani said he may rehire Sale if Democrats hold him in contempt over his refusal to cooperate with the subpoena, which requests documents and testimony on his Trump-endorsed attempts to strong-arm Ukrainian officials into investigating unfounded corruption claims about Biden’s family before the 2020 election.

“If they decide to do an enforcement, I’ll need someone to go to court with and we’ll figure that out at the time,” Giuliani told the New York Daily News before he was set to attend a Yankees game in the Bronx. “I’m not worried. It’s not authorized what they’re doing in secret. It’s an abomination of due process. I can’t imagine a court would tolerate what they’ve done.”

Sale confirmed he no longer represents Giuliani.

“My task is done for now,” Sale told the Daily News.

Giuliani said there was no bad blood between him and Sale. “We’re still close friends. He’s still an adviser,” Giuliani said.

In a Tuesday letter to the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation counsel, Sale said Giuliani would “adopt” the White House position that the Democratic impeachment inquiry is “unconstitutional, baseless and illegitimate” because House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has not hosted a full floor vote to initiate it.

“In addition,” Sale said in the letter, “the subpoena is overbroad, unduly burdensome, and seeks documents beyond the scope of legitimate inquiry.”

House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who is spearheading the impeachment investigation into whether Trump abused his office by seeking Ukrainian interference in the 2020 election, did not immediately return a request for comment via his spokeswoman.

Despite the White House claim that the inquiry is illegitimate, neither House rules nor the Constitution mandates that a floor vote be held before impeachment proceedings can begin.

Nevertheless, the impeachment inquires into both Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton were preceded by the type of vote requested by the White House.

Pelosi hasn’t completely ruled out facilitating such a vote, though she has derided it as a pointless Republican “talking point.”

The speaker appeared to warm up to the prospect of a floor vote when asked about the matter during a Tuesday afternoon news conference.

“I’ll be talking about that later today after I meet with my colleagues,” she said.

Giuliani’s Trump-style stonewalling comes amid explosive revelations in the impeachment inquiry.

The president’s ex-top Russia adviser, Fiona Hill, reportedly told lawmakers Monday that ex-national security adviser John Bolton had advised her to alert the White House counsel about possible legal repercussions relating to Giuliani’s Ukraine dealings. She also quoted Bolton as once calling Giuliani a “hand grenade who’s going to blow everybody up,” according to reports.

While there was no immediate response to Sale’s letter from House impeachment investigators, some Democrats urged for Giuliani to be swiftly held in contempt.

“Take it from a real lawyer, subpoenas aren’t optional,” California Sen. Kamala Harris tweeted. “The House should hold Rudy in contempt.”