President Donald Trump has defended his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, for returning to Ukraine in a new bid to substantiate widely discredited claims about Trump’s political opponents.

„He’s a great person who loves our country, and he does this out of love, believe me. He does it out of love,“ Trump told reporters during an Oval Office event.

Giuliani’s activities in Ukraine earlier in 2019, where he met with former officials accused of corruption to obtain damaging information on Democrat Joe Biden, are an essential part of the events that led to articles of impeachment being brought against Trump.

In an interview on the conservative One America News Network that aired over the weekend, Giuliani claimed to have uncovered new evidence to support his claims about Biden.

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US President Donald Trump said that Rudy Giuliani was motivated by „love“ when he travelled to Ukraine in a new search for damaging information on Joe Biden, a leading contender for the Democratic presidential nomination.

The president was questioned on Monday about his personal attorney’s recent trip back to Ukraine, from where he has returned with new and questionable evidence to support his conspiracy theory that Ukraine hacked the 2016 election, and that Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden ought to be investigated for corruption.

Giuliani’s mission for the information earlier in 2019 was key to the chain of events that have led to Trump being poised to become only the third US president in history to be impeached.

As a likely Senate impeachment trial looms in the new year, instead of backing away from the controversy, Giuliani has instead redoubled his push to give credibility to the allegations.

Trump has so far stood by his personal attorney, despite senior Republicans seeking to portray him as a rogue agent, and on Monday defended his new Ukraine trip.

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1206688059477110797?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

„He’s a great person who loves our country, and he does this out of love, believe me. He does it out of love,“ Trump told reporters during an Oval Office event.

Last week, Giuliani had been spotted by reporters entering the White House, but Trump would not disclose what they had discussed, responding „not too much“ when asked what Giuliani had shared with him, and claimed he’s a „great crime fighter.“

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Giuliani faces not just scrutiny from impeachment investigators over his activities in Ukraine, but also from federal prosecutors in the office he once ran as a district attorney in New York.

The probe stems from Giuliani’s association with two businessmen from former Soviet countries, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, who have been charged with illegally channeling foreign money into GOP election campaigns, charges they deny.

Parnas and Fruman also helped Giuliani broker contact with Ukrainain officials in his push to substantiate the allegations about Biden.

The accusations stem from Biden’s activities as vice president, whose portfolio including combatting corruption in Ukraine following the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovich in 2014.

Foto: Joe Biden, right, and his son Hunter, left, are seen above in April 2016.sourceTeresa Kroeger/Getty Images for World Food Program USA

At the time Biden’s son, Hunter, worked on the board of Ukrainian energy firm, Burisma.

Giuliani alleges that Biden abused his office to quash a probe into Burisma, but no credible evidence has emerged in support of the claim. US government officials though had raised concerns that Biden’s son working for Burisma did raise questions over potential conflict of interest.