>> reporter: from the outset of donald trump's tumultuous term, rudy giuliani was a prized player around the oval office. >> rudy's a very straight shooter. >> reporter: but others saw him differently. >> he is the political henchman for the president. >> you are just repeating spin. the prosecutor -- >> oh, but you don't, right? you're not spinning anything. go ahead. >> i'm not spinning a damn thing. >> the chief problem? giuliani was neck deep in the ukraine scandal from the get go. despite evidence that he was part of trump's effort to secure foreign help in the 2020 election. giuliani insisted, with no proof, that democrats were trying that trick. >> in fact, i'm a legitimate whistle-blower. >> he seemed in lockstep with all the president's denials. >> he didn't do anything wrong. i mean, he didn't obstruct. >> reporter: all the time. >> no collusion and no obstruction. >> reporter: and if anyone doubted his closeness to the commander in chief -- >> you can assume that i talk to him early and often.