WASHINGTON _ Rudy Giuliani once was known as "America's mayor," having led New York City and the country through the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
He now is better known as personal attorney to President Donald Trump. And he again has been thrust into the national spotlight, this time as a central player in the whistleblower saga engulfing the White House.
Giuliani, his contacts with Ukrainian officials on behalf of Trump and his retention of clients with foreign interests are what House Democrats see as key in their impeachment inquiry of Trump.
Democrats are probing whether Trump used his office to seek help from a foreign power against a domestic political rival, Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden. Their inquiry was sparked by a whistle-blower's report and a call between the Republican president and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Trump in the July 25 conversation asks Zelenskiy to look into Biden and his son Hunter, according to a partial transcript released by the White House.
Democrats have accused Giuliani, 75, of acting as a rogue agent advancing Trump's personal political interests in a potential abuse of presidential power. They also have said there may be ethical entanglements between the president's vested interests abroad and those of the clients that Giuliani retains through his namesake security firm.
Giuliani, who served two terms as New York City mayor and made an aborted run for president in 2008, is referenced in the intelligence community whistleblower's complaint as "a central figure" in Trump's use of "the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. election."
He also is mentioned by name at least six times in the partial transcript of the conversation between Trump and Zelenskiy. "Rudy very much knows what's happening and he is a very capable guy. If you could speak to him that would be great," Trump tells Zelenskiy in the call.
Giuliani has asserted that he has done nothing wrong. Trump has maintained that he was doing his duty in rooting out Ukrainian corruption that he says included activities by Biden and his son. A former Ukrainian prosecutor has said there was no wrongdoing by the Bidens.
Last Monday, the Democratic chairmen of the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs and Oversight committees subpoenaed Giuliani for documents and communications as part of their impeachment inquiry. They wrote that they are considering whether the former mayor acted as "an agent of the President in a scheme to advance his personal political interests by abusing the power of the Office of the President."
The Democrats also sent subpoena letters to three of Giuliani's associates, including Ukrainian-American businessmen Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman.
"A growing public record, including your own statements, indicates that the President, you, and others appear to have pressed the Ukrainian government to pursue two politically motivated investigations," they wrote, citing the prosecution of Ukrainians providing evidence against convicted Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and the investigation into the Ukrainian business dealings of Biden's son, Hunter, and whether the then-vice president shielded his son from investigation.
Giuliani has acknowledged in news interviews that he traveled to Madrid, Paris and Warsaw this year to meet with Ukrainian officials. The Madrid trip in early August came just after the Trump-Zelenskiy call.
The former mayor also had planned a May trip to Kiev, Ukraine, to meet Zelenskiy but canceled it, telling the New York Times that the Democrats "say I was meddling in the election _ ridiculous _ but that's their spin."
Giuliani told Reuters that Trump did not pay for his trips to Madrid, Paris and Warsaw but wouldn't disclose who did.
He also has pushed back on criticism that he was embarking on rogue missions as Trump's personal attorney, saying that he was asked by the State Department to connect with the Ukrainian representatives about their Biden investigation.
Giuliani on Thursday tweeted screenshots of his text exchanges with former U.S. special envoy to Ukraine, Kurt Volker, as Volker testified before House Democrats. Volker resigned after being named in the whistle-blower report as the American diplomat connecting Giuliani with top Zelenskiy aide Andriy Yermak.
"Volker reached out to me to ask if I would take a call from Mr. Yermak," Giuliani tweeted in one of several posts featuring images of the text conversation.
Volker during his House deposition provided text messages that lay out a plan to tie an audience with Trump and aid to Ukraine with efforts by its government to launch probes into interference in the 2016 U.S. election and the Bidens. Giuliani is a participant in some of the exchanges.
Volker in his opening statement said he warned Giuliani against trusting the Ukrainians in power at the time and said he did believe the accusation that Biden acted inappropriately to be credible.
The lawyer representing Giuliani in connection to the House Democrats' inquiry would not say whether and how the former mayor will respond to the subpoena.
"We're just evaluating," Miami-based defense attorney Jon Sale told Newsday. "It's a complex issue. There's privilege issues and separation-of-power issues, so I'm just in the beginning of analyzing it."
Sale, who attended law school with Giuliani and served as an assistant special Watergate prosecutor, would not disclose their legal strategy.
He said Friday that he had not yet reviewed Volker's testimony.
Giuliani has reiterated in a flurry of fiery TV interviews and tweets _ as Trump has _ that the focus should remain on transgressions by the House Democrats, the Bidens and the news media.
He recently said he is considering lawsuits against individual Democratic members of Congress.
"Now it's time to fight back," Giuliani told Fox Business Network on Wednesday. "It's time to hold these people liable for trampling the Constitution of the United States, destroying his (the president's) right to counsel, intimidating his lawyers, threatening to arrest the president's attorney general."
