Rudy Giuliani ‘Butt-Dials’ Reporter, Heard Talking About Foreign Affairs & Need For Cash

In the late hours of Oct. 16, Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani butt dialed NBC reporter Rich Schapiro. He and the reporter had spoken earlier that day about his ties to an Iranian dissident group.

Schapiro was asleep when the call came in at 11:07 p.m. so he woke up to a three-minute voice mail.

It is difficult to discern everything Giuliani had said, since he was not talking into the phone but rather to someone else in the room.

Giuliani can be heard discussing overseas dealings and the need for cash, though the context behind the conversation is unclear.

“You know, Charles would have a hard time with a fraud case ’cause he didn’t do any due diligence,” Giuliani said at the start of the recording.

He then tells the unidentified person in the room, “Let’s get back to business. I gotta get you to get on Bahrain.”

Last December, Giuliani met with the king of Bahrain, though it is unclear why. He told the Daily Beast in May that his security consulting firm was helping Bahrain advise its police force on counterterrorism measures. However, the Bahrain News Agency reported on the visit as diplomatic.

“HM the King praised the longstanding Bahraini-U.S. relations, noting keenness of the two countries to constantly develop them,” the news agency said.

Giuliani then asked if “Robert is around.” The man answered that he is in Turkey. Giuliani replied instantly: “The problem is we need some money.”

Shapiro wrote that nine seconds of silence pass before Giuliani spoke again.

“We need a few hundred thousand,” he said.

The Robert he was referring to was speculated to be Robert Mangas, a lawyer at the firm Greenberg Traurig LLP, as well as a registered agent of the Turkish government. Giuliani also worked for Greenberg Traurig until May 2018.

However, a Greenberg Traurig spokesperson said Mangas has not been to Turkey since 2013 and therefore was not the person discussed on the call.

“Mr. Mangas has not spoken to Mr. Giuliani since before he left Greenberg Traurig in May 2018,” the spokesperson said in statement provided to NBC News.

The man’s response to Giuliani saying he needed a few hundred thousand dollars was unintelligible, but it was clear he offered Giuliani “options.”

SLIDESHOW: TOP DEMOCRATS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT IN 2020

“You want options? I got options,” the man said.

“Yeah, give me options,” Giuliani said.

Article by Katherine Huggins