*By Christian Smith*
President Trump's attorney and close adviser Rudy Giuliani made the cable news rounds Monday morning, claiming that collusion is not necessarily a crime on "Fox and Friends" and CNN's "New Day."
But Giuliani's media blitz is all a show, said Republican strategist Rick Wilson, who once worked for the former New York City mayor. And maybe it's the silence that speaks more than the noise.
"The more they project about things that aren't there, the more you know that they know those things are there," Wilson explained in an interview with Cheddar Monday.
It's all part of a deliberate effort to stunt media coverage of the latest on Russia's alleged election tampering during the 2014 and 2016 cycles, Wilson added.
Giuliani's comments follow former FBI Director James Comey's assertion during a CNN town hall in [April](https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/30/politics/rudy-giuliani-collusion-crime-cnntv/index.html) that, "\[Collusion\]"is not actually a thing that exists under the federal laws of the United States."
As the trial of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort looms on Tuesday, Wilson says the administration is trying to stage a distraction for Trump supporters.
"What you're doing here is watching an exercise in the creation of 'the message of the week' bubble for the Trump folks," Wilson said.
But there's more ahead: Wilson expects that there will be new developments "coming down the pipe from Robert Mueller."
For more on this story, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/rudy-giuliani-makes-controversial-claims-in-cable-news-interviews).
New York Senator and former presidential candidate Kirsten Gillibrand spoke with Cheddar on Monday about why she joined fellow Democratic lawmakers in opposing the latest $2 trillion stimulus bill.
Despite localized reductions in emissions and pollution due to coronavirus-related shutdowns, it doesn't mean that the pandemic and ensuing economic crisis will somehow turbocharge the globe's glacial steps toward reducing humanity's impact on the environment.
Stocks are down more than 3 percent in tumultuous trading on Wall Street as investors wait to see if Democrats and Republicans can settle their differences on an economic rescue package.
In a news conference, NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he has ordered the state's hospitals to increase their capacity for intake at least by half, if not doubling it., and also revealed that New York had procured more medical supplies in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
While the spread of the coronavirus has caused millions of layoffs across the country, select businesses are on a hiring spree to meet increased demand related to the outbreak.
Stocks are down nearly 5 percent in volatile trading on Wall Street as investors wait for Democrats and Republicans to settle their differences and pass a nearly $2 trillion rescue package for the economy.
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, becoming the first case of COVID-19 in the Senate and raising fears about the further transmission of the virus among Republicans at the Capitol.
In its boldest effort to protect the U.S. economy from the coronavirus, the Federal Reserve says it will buy as much government debt as it deems necessary and will also begin lending to small and large businesses and local governments to help them weather the crisis.
Malls, movie theaters, and retailers across the U.S. have been forced to close down to stem the spread of coronavirus, but cannabis dispensaries and retailers will stay open for business after a number of local governments deemed them “essential.”
Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio 13th District) said on Friday that the $1 trillion stimulus package currently being negotiated by lawmakers won't be nearly enough to make Americans whole again.
