Scaramucci: Giuliani's Statement an 'Intentional' Strategy

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani's comments about President Donald Trump's repaying attorney Michael Cohen the $130,000 spent on a nondisclosure agreement with adult film actress Stormy Daniels was a planned-out legal strategy, not a surprise bombshell, former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci claimed Friday.

"The nonsense going on with these talking heads saying this was an impulsive thing, not intentional, that's ridiculous," Scaramucci told CNN "New Day" co-host Chris Cuomo. "This was a strategy being deployed."

When Cuomo asked if that meant it came from Giuliani, Scaramucci replied "100 percent."

"If the information is there, he would rather prick that bubble now rather than having it come out in a bombshell drop," Scaramucci said.

"If you have bad news on your earnings, [you] get the earnings out ASAP, so you can explain it to people to level off the stock, if I can use that example," he added.

Scaramucci also insisted to Cuomo that Trump did not break the law in connection with the payments, after the show host commented that the argument isn't a moral one, but over whether Trump broke the law by lying over whether he'd repaid Cohen.

"Let's see how the facts unfold," said Scaramucci, "It is my opinion, analyzing the facts, they didn't break the law...at worst, it's the John Edwards offense."

In that case, Edwards was prosecuted over the nearly $1 million in payments that had allegedly made to cover his affair with videographer Rielle Hunter during his 2008 presidential bid. He eventually was acquitted of charges of accepting about $1 million in secret payments from two wealthy political donors to hide his pregnant mistress when he was seeking the White House in 2008.

"John Edwards happened a year before the election," said Cuomo, but Scaramucci told him that Giuliani and Trump "wanted to get this information out before the midterm elections."

He also pointed out that Trump and Giuliani are long-time friends, and that the president is "really trying to get this distraction behind him," and that's why he tapped the former mayor, even if they did not do a "great job" in explaining the repayment.

Scaramucci on Friday also defended White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders from people complaining that she is not truthful from the podium during her daily press briefings.

"She has probably one of the toughest jobs in Washington, maybe one of the toughest in the world," "She's doing the best job she can to relay as much as she can to the American people," said Scaramucci. "She's standing up there with the lights and the cameras...she's a very classy person."

Meanwhile, the American people are not "microanalyzing" all of the president's tweets, or everything that happens in the news cycle, said Scaramucci.

"He is rising in the polling data," he pointed out. "When you step back from the situation, he has pretty good judgment and instincts in terms of where to go. He has very good instincts, not pretty good."

He also said he finds it "amazing" that 20 years after the Monica Lewinsky scandal that people are still "microanalyzing" politicians personal lives.

"I don't think it's a morality judgment, should he do this in his personal life or not," said Scaramucci. "That is none of my business, in my estimation...we have a cultural moment where we accept marriage equality...we should have a cultural movement again where public officials should be left alone in their personal lives to do what they do."

After the politicians, like Trump and former President Bill Clinton have gotten "tangled up" in such scandals, and "then they start to position themselves in a certain way," said Scaramucci. "President Clinton did that. Perhaps President Trump has had had to do that, and I think it's unfair to both of those people. I think we should knock it off."

Scaramucci said he does think Trump will figure out a way to keep focus on important issues, such as North Korea and the economy, and that he will determine a way to "cut a deal with the Iranians that will be a better deal than the prior administration, if we can relax on these stories."