President Donald Trump’s legal team fought Monday to try and claim that Rudy Giuliani had nothing to do with the president’s efforts in Ukraine.

It’s a claim that flies in the face of the documents, testimony, text messages and more that have been revealed throughout the course of the investigation that hangs the albatross around Giuliani’s neck.

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In fact, Giuliani crafted his own letter to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky saying that he was authorized to speak on behalf of President Donald Trump as a “private attorney.” If the president cared so much about corruption in Ukraine, why would he be doing a shadow foreign policy using Giuliani instead of through Congress, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the United Nations, the European Union, the International Monetary Fund or a slew of other international groups interested in the issue.

The excuse from the Trump team was that Giuliani was a nobody.

“Rudy Giuliani is a minor player,” Trump lawyer Jane Raskin said. “That shiny object designed to distract you. Senators, I urge you most respectfully: Do not be distracted.”

“Rudy Giuliani is a minor player,” Raskin continued. “That shiny object designed to distract you. Senators, I urge you most respectfully: Do not be distracted.”

CNN host Chris Cuomo questioned the attempt, before playing a clip of Giuliani, who admitted to the crime on his show.

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“So you did ask Ukraine to look into Joe Biden?” Cuomo asked.

“Of course I did!” Giuliani exclaimed.

The panel of experts cracked up laughing.

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“Let me pick up on where Paul left off and it goes right to Giuliani and what this is about in realtime: extortion,” said Watergate reporter Carl Bernstein. “That behavior and a kind of bribe. Exactly what Alan Dershowitz was saying today, he kept saying, ‘Well, if the crime is akin to.’ Well, that’s what we’re looking at — something that is akin to. And I think Dershowitz has opened up a door particularly for Democrats to walk right through and exploit and say, ‘This is exactly what Dershowitz was talking about, extortion, bribery.’ That’s what the president did. that’s what Giuliani participated in.”

Watch the full clip below: