Today in Politics

(ALEX WONG / GETTY / THE ATLANTIC)

It must be nice to have Rudy Giuliani on your side. The president’s personal lawyer has found himself ensnared in the latest—and perhaps most damning—presidential controversy, a phone call with the Ukrainian president.

The much-murmured about whistle-blower complaint, a declassified version of which was released to the public today, highlights Giuliani as Trump’s chief-henchman in the Ukraine matter, leading to scorn even among some of Trump’s closest allies.

Guliani wasn’t always one of Trump’s most loyal defenders, doing cable-news hits and yelling at … Atlantic reporters to defend the president and himself.

He was catapulted to national prominence as New York City’s chief executive from 1994 to 2001, earning the moniker of “America’s Mayor” for his conciliatory gestures after 9/11. (See: Giuliani donning an FDNY hat, walking through lower Manhattan beside Hillary Clinton.)

His public evolution (devolution?) through the years has been jarring:

September, 2019, to our White House reporter, Elaina Plott