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In an 11/2019 interview with Fox News, Rudy Giuliani said in reference to former Vice President Joe Biden:

Sounds like a poor imitation of the Godfather. I mean, this is the guy who sent out a decree to keep me off television.

Is there any way that's true? Did former Vice President Biden send out any such a "decree", at any time (including when he was not VP)?

JJJ
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    This letter: https://www.thedailybeast.com/biden-campaign-demands-tv-news-execs-stop-booking-rudy-giuliani?ref=home – Andrew Grimm Nov 24 '19 at 06:42
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    @AndrewGrimm seems like an answer to me. – JJJ Nov 24 '19 at 06:46
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    I wonder if Guiliani knows what a decree is. I mean, it's not just a message sent out to people to please take note, and it's not even a strong demand to do something. A decree has [legally binding status](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/decree), and unless I've missed something, Biden has not been elected president yet. I think any answer to this question has to address Guiliani's misleading use of the word _decree_ as well. – Schmuddi Nov 24 '19 at 10:11
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    @Schmuddi depends on whether the word is interpreted literally or metaphorically, to signify a request that is asked in a very arrogant manner. – Andrew Grimm Nov 24 '19 at 11:13
  • @AndrewGrimm: My point stands that any answer to this question has to go into the word meaning of _decree_ as Guiliani uses it. – Schmuddi Nov 24 '19 at 12:31
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    So it was a request made in September 2019. Biden was not Vice President at the time – Henry Nov 24 '19 at 14:04
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    @Schmuddi taking into account all comments here, isn't it sufficient to say that Biden did ask for it as a civilian but it's not a decree? Note that nowhere in that excerpt (I have seen the whole interview but I cannot speak to all of its content, there's so much to unpack there) does anyone claim that the decree (or rather the ask) took place while Biden was in office. – JJJ Nov 24 '19 at 17:20
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    'Decree' is a misleading word to use since it seems to be inquiring what legal status the Biden letter had, but by definition 'decree' wouldn't even be applicable even if it had been when Biden was VP, since even VPs don't make decrees. If we use language like this, respondents will likely get hung up on characterizing that. Better to say 'request'/'strong request'. In US political parlance, Giuliani and Biden are 'private citizens', albeit one is Presidential candidate and the other is sometime lawyer to the current President, a frequent proxy for the current President and former candidate. – smci Oct 16 '20 at 17:59
  • Also, since the event being referred to was back in 2019, but a quick read of the title would suggest it was more recent, and possibly in response to the 10/2020 Hunter Biden claims. So I'd include the word 'ever'. Thus a more neutral wording of this would be *"Did the Biden campaign ever send out a written request to keep Rudy Giuliani off television?"* – smci Oct 16 '20 at 18:02
  • @smci you're welcome to suggest it as an edit. Personally, I think the title is fine either way. As for the 'decree', that's kind of the question. I think Tim answered that correctly already, there was no decree, but there was a letter. – JJJ Oct 16 '20 at 18:06
  • JJJ: I don't think the title is ok, for the three distinct reasons I mention. I recommend you edit it, I'll make that edit now since you said ok. It's likely to accidentally mislead people to use the word 'decree', because people could truthfully answer "Biden has never (yet) been President, therefore Biden has made zero decrees in his entire life". If we get away from the raw facts, and into characterizing the *intent*, *demeanor* and *emotional state* of participants in the 2016 and 2020 races, then things will blow up quickly... – smci Oct 16 '20 at 18:11
  • @smci I'm happy to edit in the word `ever` and `campaign` in. I'll change the `decree` removal because that's part of the quote. ;) – JJJ Oct 16 '20 at 18:13
  • It's cool, I edited it already. In order to phrase things neutrally (and avoid getting emotional answers from people), I'd personally shy away from using or accepting Giuliani's, Trump's, Biden's, (Hillary's, McCain's or anyone else's) wordings, characterizations, implied motives etc. (Giuliani himself is no stranger to bizarre utterances, but that's another story... 2020 is a weird year, even by prevailing norms in US politics, if such thing can be said to still exist...) – smci Oct 16 '20 at 18:20
  • @smci you do realize that's exactly why I asked the question? This site is for asking about dubious claims or quotes to verify if there's any truth behind them. ;) – JJJ Oct 16 '20 at 18:23
  • JJJ: just avoid loaded and ambiguous terms like 'decree'. Technically Biden has never issued a 'decree' in his life. Any question wording which allows people to answer both 'Yes' and 'No', on that loophole, is a sloppy wording, unintentionally... thass' all I'm saying. Your underlying question is both interesting and relevant. – smci Oct 16 '20 at 18:24
  • @smci "decree" is in the claim. We can't change that. –  Oct 17 '20 at 02:05
  • @fredsbend: just because Giuliani (or anyone else) uses hyperbole, we really don't have to play their rhetorical game. 'request' or 'written request' are neutral and work fine. – smci Oct 17 '20 at 02:51

1 Answers1

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The story was originally broken by The Daily Beast.

They quote a letter from the Biden campaign - not Joe Biden personally - , which demands that Giuliani is no longer booked because of the falsehoods and conspiracy theories he spreads. They ask that if he continues to be invited, an "equivalent amount of time" be given to them.

“We write to demand that in service to the facts, you no longer book Rudy Giuliani, a surrogate for Donald Trump who has demonstrated that he will knowingly and willingly lie in order to advance his own narrative,” the letter continues.

The Biden campaign letter goes on to note that “Giuliani is not a public official, and holds no public office that would entitle him to opine on the nation’s airwaves.” And it demands that if the former mayor is put on the airwaves, “an equivalent amount of time” be given “to a surrogate for the Biden campaign.”

The Daily Beast contextualizes this by saying that complaints about bookings are common, while demands are not. They also note that Giuliani "has pushed the bounds in ways few guests have before".

Politico published a copy of the first page of the letter.

The letter was written in September 2019, a time in which Biden held no public office, meaning that it is not a decree, but a request by a campaign which has no legally binding status.

Community
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tim
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    It's just a request for "equal time", which I think only actually applies to candidates. Not sure, exactly, but describing Giulias "a surrogate for Donald Trump" relates to Trump as presumptive GOP nominee. Might be interesting to follow up in politics or law SEs. –  Oct 17 '20 at 01:55