--- title: Rudy Giuliani Explains His 'Truth Isn't Truth' Comment description: President Donald Trump's attorney Rudy Giuliani's "truth isn't truth" statement was "not meant as a pontification on moral theology." canonical: https://time.com/5371650/rudy-giuliani-truth-isnt-truth/ author: Billy Perrigo article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-08-20T12:43:05.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:53:13.319Z article:section: Politics og:title: Here’s How Rudy Giuliani Explains 'Truth Isn't Truth' og:description: "My statement was not meant as a pontification on moral theology..." og:url: https://time.com/5371650/rudy-giuliani-truth-isnt-truth/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8ee625dd8f744f42/6989381f8fd2ee4c0f35c693/gettyimages-988040752.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Rudy Giuliani og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here’s How Rudy Giuliani Explains 'Truth Isn't Truth' twitter:description: "My statement was not meant as a pontification on moral theology..." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8ee625dd8f744f42/6989381f8fd2ee4c0f35c693/gettyimages-988040752.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here’s How Rudy Giuliani Explains His 'Truth Isn't Truth' Comment > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=1a533824-271f-4d43-a5ac-6364879e8c90&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Legal Answers to Questions About Donald Trump and Robert Mueller [Watch (HLS stream): Legal Answers to Questions About Donald Trump and Robert Mueller](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/u2St1GOu.m3u8) (1:58)  _Published 2017-06-22. It's a deceptively simple question. Can Donald Trump fire Robert Mueller?_  by [Billy Perrigo](https://time.com/author/billy-perrigo/)  ## Billy Perrigo Correspondent Aug 20, 2018 12:43 PM UTC  JUNE 30: Former Mayor of New York Rudolph Giuliani speaks during the Conference In Support Of Freedom and Democracy In Iran JUNE 30: Former Mayor of New York Rudolph Giuliani speaks during the Conference In Support Of Freedom and Democracy In Iran Anthony Devlin—Getty Images  by [Billy Perrigo](https://time.com/author/billy-perrigo/)  ## Billy Perrigo Correspondent Aug 20, 2018 12:43 PM UTC President Donald Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani’s “truth isn’t truth” statement was “not meant as a pontification on moral theology,” the former New York City mayor said Monday. Instead, Giuliani said he was “referring to the situation where two people make precisely contradictory statements, the classic ‘he said, she said’ puzzle.” > [](https://twitter.com/RudyGiuliani/status/1031508346732519425) Giuliani’s comments came one day after his appearance on NBC’s _Meet the Press,_ during which he told an incredulous Chuck Todd that “truth isn’t truth” while explaining why he did not want to rush Trump into testifying to special counsel [Robert Mueller](http://time.com/5265283/donald-trump-rudy-giuliani-stormy-daniels-michael-cohen-strategy/): --- > “” --- Giuliani’s comments were immediately pounced upon by those critical of Trump and others in his orbit. Former FBI Director James Comey, whose firing by Trump led to the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel in the Russia investigation, said Sunday that “truth exists and truth matters.” “Truth has always been the touchstone of our country’s justice system and political life,” said Comey. “People who lie are held accountable. If we are untethered to truth, our justice system cannot function and a society based on the rule of law dissolves.” > [](https://twitter.com/Comey/status/1031243024897126402) Trump has said he is willing to talk to Mueller, but his current legal team, headed by Giuliani, has yet to arrange such a meeting, insisting that certain topics remain off-limits. ## Transcript It's a deceptively simple question. Can Donald Trump fire Robert Mueller? I think he's considering perhaps terminating the special counsel. The president is clearly unhappy that the former head of the FBI was appointed as a special counsel, but some major legal questions surround what might happen next. [ MUSIC ] Trump can't fire Mueller directly but he could order the deputy attorney general who oversees the investigation to do it and if Rod Rosenstein said no Trump could fire him and pressure the next person in line. This is what Richard Nixon did during Watergate in the infamous Saturday Night Massacre. Alternately Trump could repeal the regulations around special counsels then fire Mueller himself. Though that would likely draw even more criticism. [ MUSIC ] Trump may not have to fire Rosenstein though. He might step down on his own accord. The deputy attorney general could decide he was too involved in things Mueller is investigating and recuse himself. In that case, the decisions on how to handle the special counsel's investigation Would fall to Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand, who worked in the Justice Department under George W. Bush. [ MUSIC ] It's not clear if the president can be indicted while in office. The general argument is that any suspected crimes are a political question that should be resolved by the impeachment process. White House lawyers have typically argued that the president can't be indicted, but admit the text of the Constitution doesn't answer the question. The Justice Department has argued both sides in legal briefs over the years, and the Supreme Court has never ruled definitively on the subject. Either way, the question of Trump's future as president would still rest with Congress, which alone has the power to remove him from office [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5371650/rudy-giuliani-truth-isnt-truth/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5371650/rudy-giuliani-truth-isnt-truth/"},"headline":"Here’s How Rudy Giuliani Explains His 'Truth Isn't Truth' Comment","datePublished":"2018-08-20T12:43:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:53:13.319Z","description":"\"My statement was not meant as a pontification on moral theology...\"","url":"https://time.com/5371650/rudy-giuliani-truth-isnt-truth/","keywords":["White House","rudy giuliani","onetime","president trump","Robert Mueller"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8ee625dd8f744f42/6989381f8fd2ee4c0f35c693/gettyimages-988040752.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Billy Perrigo","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/billy-perrigo/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8ee625dd8f744f42/6989381f8fd2ee4c0f35c693/gettyimages-988040752.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Rudy Giuliani","caption":"Conference In Support Of Freedom And Democracy In Iran","creditText":"Anthony Devlin—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5371650/rudy-giuliani-truth-isnt-truth/","name":"Here’s How Rudy Giuliani Explains His 'Truth Isn't Truth' Comment"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Legal Answers to Questions About Donald Trump and Robert Mueller","description":"It's a deceptively simple question. 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