The president also left open the possibility of pardoning him, despite concerns from Mr. Cipollone and warnings from outside advisers that he would set fire to investigators who were already following him.
Mr. Trump has never been more isolated than this week. According to the people who went to work there on Wednesday, the White House is sparsely staffed. Those who did go to work tried to avoid the Oval Office.
More and more staff members have stopped and the White House Council is not preparing to defend itself in the Senate hearing. His political adviser, Jason Miller, posted a poll of one of the championship members, John McLaughlin, on Twitter that was meant to show the president’s grip on the party as Republicans of the House debate their votes.
The plans to Mr. Trump’s move to another platform online after being barred by Twitter has been halted. One option was the platform Gab, which drew extremists and QAnon conspiracy supporters. Mr. Trump’s adviser Johnny McEntee favored the website, but Mr. Kushner blocked the move, according to people familiar with the discussions, which were reported earlier by Bloomberg News.
Mr. Giuliani is among those facing charges for their involvement in inciting the mob that assaulted the Capitol. A group of former assistant U.S. attorneys who worked with him when he served as a federal prosecutor in Manhattan expressed his dismay on Wednesday with his appearance at the protest ahead.
In a letter, the group said Giuliani’s remarks, in which he urged Trump supporters to have a “trial by a fight” to stop the certification of election results, contributed to loss of life and damage to the country.
“It was shocking and utterly discouraging to see one of our former colleagues participate in that behavior,” the former prosecutors said in the letter, which was signed by numerous Giuliani colleagues, including Kenneth Feinberg, Ira Lee Sorkin, Elliot Sagor and Richard Ben. -Veniste.