Former White House communications director Alyssa Farah Griffin has said that Rudy Giuliani was known to be a “liability” within the Trump administration – after he was accused of sexually assaulting a White House aide on January 6 2021.
Ms Griffin told CNN that it was an open secret that Mr Giuliani was a “wild card” who would often show up drunk to the White House and that women were warned to stay away from him.
Her comments came after Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to Mr Trump’s former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and a star witness before the January 6 committee, accused Mr Giuliani of sexually assaulting her on the day of the insurrection.
In an excerpt from her upcoming book Enough obtained by The Guardian, Ms Hutchinson, 27, wrote that Mr Giuliani, 79, put his hand “under my blazer, then my skirt” backstage at a rally before a mob of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol.
“I feel his frozen fingers trail up my thigh. He tilts his chin up. The whites of his eyes look jaundiced,” Ms Hutchinson wrote.
Ms Griffin told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Wednesday that Ms Hutchinson had previously told her about the former New York City mayor “getting handsy” on January 6, and that she “unequivocally” believed her friend.
“It was a known fact within the Trump White House that Rudy Giuliani was a liability,” Ms Griffin told CNN.
“There was often a worry that he would show up at the White House complex perhaps inebriated, to the point that I was actually given a directive from the president to make sure that he wasn’t trying to do stand-ups on television on the White House lawn. Because you weren’t sure what he was going to do, what he was going to say.
Cassidy Hutchinson testifying before the January 6 committee— (AP)
“It doesn’t in anyway shock me that this happened and no-one in the Trump White House hierarchy did anything about this at the time.”
Mr Giuliani’s political advisor Ted Goodman told The Independent: “Who is Alyssa Farah Griffin and how is her opinion on this matter newsworthy?”
In a previous statement, Mr Goodman forcefully denied Ms Hutchinson’s claims.
“It’s fair to ask Cassidy Hutchinson why she is just now coming out with these allegations from two and a half years ago, as part of the marketing campaign for her upcoming book release,” he said.
“This is a disgusting lie against Mayor Rudy Giuliani – a man whose distinguished career in public service includes taking down the Mafia, cleaning up New York City and comforting the nation following September 11th.”
Rudy Giuliani speaks to supporters from The Ellipse near the White House on January 6, 2021, in Washington, DC.— (AFP via Getty Images)
Ms Hutchinson’s claims come as Mr Giuliani faces a swirl of legal issues and mounting bills.
Mr Giuliani is one of 18 co-defendants alongside Mr Trump in attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential results in Georgia.
He is being sued for $1.3m in unpaid legal bills by his former law firm, and was found liable for defaming two Georgia election workers.
