Rudy Giuliani Defends Claim That ‘Truth Isn’t Truth’

Rudy Giuliani, a top attorney for President Donald Trump and former mayor of New York City, is defending remarks he made Sunday suggesting that “truth isn’t truth.”

On NBC’s Meet the Press, host Chuck Todd asked Giuliani about the possibility of Trump testifying before Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election. “I am not going to be rushed into having [Trump] testify so that he gets trapped into perjury. And when you tell me that, you know, he should testify because he’s going to tell the truth and he shouldn’t worry, well that’s so silly because it’s somebody’s version of the truth. Not the truth,” Giuliani told Todd.

“Truth is truth,” Todd replied, though Giuliani apparently disagreed. “No it isn’t truth. Truth isn’t truth,” Giuliani said. Giuliani then pointed to contradicting accounts from Trump and former FBI Director James Comey regarding a discussion about the FBI’s investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. “Donald Trump says: I didn’t talk about Flynn with Comey. Comey says: You did talk about it. So tell me what the truth is,” Giuliani said.

Giuliani received widespread criticism for his remarks on truth, including from one of the subjects of his comments:

Truth exists and truth matters. Truth has always been the touchstone of our country’s justice system and political life. People who lie are held accountable. If we are untethered to truth, our justice system cannot function and a society based on the rule of law dissolves.

— James Comey (@Comey) August 19, 2018

But the former NYC mayor isn’t apologizing. In a Monday tweet, he said his “statement was not meant as a pontification on moral theology but one referring to the situation where two people make precisely contradictory statements.”

My statement was not meant as a pontification on moral theology but one referring to the situation where two people make precisely contradictory statements, the classic “he said,she said” puzzle. Sometimes further inquiry can reveal the truth other times it doesn’t.

— Rudy Giuliani (@RudyGiuliani) August 20, 2018

Trump, for his part, has expressed a willingness to meet with Mueller, though such an interview has yet to be scheduled. For months, Trump has referred to the Mueller probe as a “witch hunt” and denied allegations that his campaign colluded with Russia.