Rudy Giuliani: Democrats 'want to execute me'

Savannah Behrmann | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Giuliani says he gave info to Trump on Yovanovitch Rudy Giuliani says he provided the president with information that the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine was impeding investigations that could benefit Trump.

WASHINGTON – Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, claimed Thursday to a crowd of conservative high school students that Democrats want to "execute" him.

The former New York City Mayor spoke at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in West Palm Beach, Florida, a day after the House of Representatives voted along mostly party lines to impeach President Donald Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Giuliani touted to the crowd that Democrats are "moving" America towards "a dictatorship" with the impeachment process and "taking our Constitution and tearing it up."

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Giuliani claimed the Democrats "want to put [Attorney General Bill] Barr in prison and they want to execute me," saying that "The Mafia, the FARC, and the word you can't say — Islamic extremist terrorists — have all taken out contracts of one kind or another to kill me. And my answer is good luck. I just get angrier and I go after you more."

Rudy Giuliani: "They want to put Barr in prison and they want to execute me...The Mafia, the FARC, and the word you can't say Islamic extremist terrorists have all taken out contracts of one kind or another to kill me. And my answer is good luck" pic.twitter.com/Omka4msPed — Jason Campbell (@JasonSCampbell) December 20, 2019

Giuliani has emerged to be a key player in the events that led to Trump’s impeachment and additionally has become the subject of a criminal investigation by federal prosecutors.

The investigation focuses in part on Giuliani's work with Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman. The Soviet-born business associates and legal clients helped Giuliani seek damaging information in Ukraine about the family of Joe Biden, the former U.S. vice president who is vying to challenge Trump in the 2020 presidential election.

The two are also indicted on charges that they schemed to funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars in foreign funds to U.S. political candidates and campaign committees.

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Giuliani told multiple media outlets in a string of recent interviews that he did “force” former Ukraine Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch out of her role because he believed she was in the way of his attempts to pursue the investigations Trump wanted — the Bidens and the 2016 election.

Giuliani also recently traveled back to Ukraine to gather more evidence to bolster the claims behind his uncorroborated allegations that former vice president Joe Biden fired an Ukrainian prosecutor to help his son and his position on the board of an Ukranian energy company.

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Guiliani stated Thursday, “Now, I'm being investigated for crimes. I can assure you I've never committed a crime" and insisted that he did "security consulting” in Ukraine “for which he was paid”

"I do legitimate work,” he stated.

Trump is scheduled to appear Saturday at the Turning Point USA conference.

Contributing: Kevin McCoy, Jeanine Santucci