Rudy Giuliani, an attorney for Donald Trump, argued on Sunday that Trump could not have obstructed justice when he asked former FBI Director James Comey to "go easy" on then-National Security Adviser Michael Flynn in the Russia investigation.
In an interview that aired on Meet the Press, Giuliani conceded to host Chuck Todd that presidents could be guilty of obstruction of justice -- but he insisted that Trump was not because he had used the word "please" with Comey before asking him to curb the Russia investigation.
"A president firing somebody that works for him, if he does no other corrupt act other than just fire him, can't obstruct justice," Giuliani opined. "If, for example, a president said, 'Leave office or I'm going to have your kids kidnapped or I'm going to break your legs.'"
"When the president said [to Comey,] 'Please, go easy on Flynn,' I know of no obstruction case that begins with the word 'please,'" he continued. "It goes something like this: 'If you don't go easy on Flynn, I'll break your knee caps.'"
According to Giuliani, Trump simple made a legal "request" for Comey to reign in the Russia investigation before firing the FBI director.
