Giuliani Slams Romania’s Anti-Corruption Reforms In Letter To Their President, Was Paid By Lobbyists For It

The New York Times reports:

Romania, long considered one of the most corrupt states in the European Union, has made energetic efforts to root out graft, with high-profile lawmakers caught in the cross hairs and concerns about the rule of law prompting rallies attended by tens and sometimes hundreds of thousands of protesters.

Now, unexpectedly, Rudolph W. Giuliani, President Trump’s personal attorney, has waded into the debate, sending a letter to Romania’s president, Klaus Iohannis, criticizing the country’s anticorruption efforts.

The letter, dated Aug. 22, expressed concern about the “continuing damage to the rule of law being done under the guise of effective law enforcement” in Romania. Mr. Giuliani wrote that an amnesty should be given to those who had been convicted in the crackdown, citing the “excesses” of the country’s anticorruption agency.

Politico Europe reports:



Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani was being paid by a global consulting firm when he sent a letter to the president of Romania last week that contradicted the U.S. government’s official position. Giuliani’s letter to Romanian President Klaus Iohannis appears to take sides in a fight at the top of the Romanian government over how to rein in high-level corruption.

The U.S. State Department has expressed concern at recent political upheaval in Romania around attempts to dial back those anti-corruption practices, including the firing of the country’s top anti-corruption prosecutor, Laura Codruţa Kövesi.

Giuliani — who regularly appears in the media as a public representative of Trump — told POLITICO Tuesday that his letter “was based on a report I reviewed” by former FBI Director Louis Freeh, who runs a global consulting firm called Freeh Group International Solutions. “They are paying my fee,” Giuliani said of the Freeh Group.