- Washington Free Beacon - https://freebeacon.com -

Chris Cuomo and Rudy Giuliani Have Epic Battle

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and CNN's Chris Cuomo had a battle for the ages Wednesday morning.

Giuliani, a top Donald Trump supporter, and Cuomo discussed an array of issues ranging from the FBI probe into Hillary Clinton's private email server, a Clinton supporter donating $675,000 to the wife of the second most senior FBI official investigating Clinton, Obamacare, and polls of the 2016 presidential race.

Cuomo asked Giuliani if he agreed with Trump that the FBI rigged its email investigation for Clinton. Giuliani said he could not make that claim himself but added that Clinton and her associates should have been punished for what they did.

"I can't agree with that because I have no facts to prove it other than the logical analysis of the facts that she destroyed 33,000 emails after getting a congressional subpoena," Giuliani said. "That's like an automatic indictment."

Cuomo and Giuliani had a back and forth on who was responsible for the email misconduct, Clinton or her staffers

Giuliani pointed out that Clinton could and should have been prosecuted under a gross negligence statute.

"There's a gross negligent statute under which there have been 12 or 15 prosecutions," Giuliani said.

"Over like a hundred years," Cuomo said. "It's an old law and they usually don't prosecute it that way."

When Cuomo asked again if the Clinton investigation was rigged, Giuliani mentioned the donations totaling more than $675,000 that Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a longtime Clinton supporter and friend, gave to the political campaign of the wife of a senior FBI official involved in the Clinton investigation through his political action committee and the Virginia Democratic Party.

"I think it is based on the facts of things, like the number two guy in the investigation turns out to have gotten $675,000," Giuliani said.

"He didn't get a penny," Cuomo said.

"His wife got the money," Giuliani corrected.

"I mean Rudy! Come on!" Cuomo exclaimed. "I have looked up to you my entire life because you're so accurate, and all of a sudden you're in Trump land and the facts are all over the place. He didn't get a penny."

The two then squabbled over the money, with Cuomo calling it a campaign contribution.

Later, while talking about the money from McAuliffe, Cuomo took offense to a facial expression from Giuliani.

"See, I would never roll my eyes at you, by the way," Cuomo said.

Giuliani, who was a federal prosecutor, pointed out what most FBI agents would have done or said while interviewing Clinton.

The two turned to Obamacare and continued their battle, with Giuliani pointing out the coming double-digit premium hikes under the Affordable Care Act, which have brought the health care law to the forefront of the presidential campaign. Cuomo blamed Republicans for the current set of problems with health care.

"There are a lot of problems," Cuomo said. "The GOP wouldn't work to fix any of them. This is political."

"They [Democrats] wouldn't negotiate with the GOP," Giuliani said. "They wouldn't even negotiate tort reform with the GOP."

"And as a result, because the Democrats forced this down the Republicans' throat, the [Affordable Care Act], they decided to punish them and they won't work with the Democrats to fix any of the problems that they could fix," Cuomo responded.

Giuliani called that claim nonsense and said Republicans have tried to make changes, including tort reform.

"That has nothing to do with this," Cuomo said.

"Of course tort reform has something to do with it!" Giuliani exclaimed.

They continued debating how the presidential polls are being conducted and returned to Clinton's private email use. At the end however, the two shook hands.

Cuomo is the brother of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, one of Clinton's biggest supporters.