NYT: Prosecutors Are Looking Into Giuliani’s Drinking

The New York Times reports:

Prosecutors in the federal election case against Mr. Trump have shown an interest in the drinking habits of Mr. Giuliani — and whether the former president ignored what his aides described as the plain inebriation of the former mayor referred to in court documents as “Co-Conspirator 1.” Their entwined legal peril has turned a matter long whispered about by former City Hall aides, White House advisers and political socialites into an investigative subplot in an unprecedented case.

The office of the special counsel, Jack Smith, has questioned witnesses about Mr. Giuliani’s alcohol consumption as he was advising Mr. Trump, including on election night. The answers to those prompts could complicate any efforts by Mr. Trump’s team to lean on a so-called advice-of-counsel defense, a strategy that could portray him as a client merely taking professional cues from his lawyers.

If such guidance came from someone whom Mr. Trump knew to be compromised by alcohol, especially when many others told Mr. Trump definitively that he had lost, his argument could weaken.

Read the full article. There’s much more. Gift link.

.@mattfleg and I on what former aides, allies and associates describe as a recurring theme in Giuliani’s life in last 15 years, and which prosecutors have asked about https://t.co/zdVOIgl9Om

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) October 4, 2023