Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
- Mark Meadows blocked Rudy Giuliani from entering the White House in September 20.
- The White House chief of staff thought Giuliani's focus on Hunter Biden was distracting the president.
- Giuliani was locked out of the White House until he called Trump directly to request entry.
Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows blocked Rudy Giuliani, then-President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, from entering the White House in September 2020 to prevent him from disrupting debate prep meetings.
Meadows thought Giuliani's single-minded focus on Hunter Biden was distracting the president during his presidential debate prep, ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl writes in his forthcoming book, "Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show," an advance copy of which was obtained by Insider.
Giuliani advised Trump to repeatedly attack Joe Biden's son over his work for a Ukrainian energy company and accuse Biden of altering US foreign policy to benefit his son.
"Rudy was being a disruptive force," an adviser, who also attended the meetings, told Karl. "No matter what we were talking about, all he wanted to do was talk about Hunter Biden."
But, Karl noted, Giuliani was "saying exactly what Trump wanted to hear."
After one debate prep session, Meadows had had enough.
"I'm not going to let Rudy in the building for any more of these," Meadows told Trump advisor Chris Christie and campaign manager Bill Stepien. "We're not going to get anywhere if he continues to be here."
Meadows took Giuliani's name off the list and the former New York mayor was turned away at the White House gate when he arrived the next day at 2:30 pm for another debate prep meeting. But Giuliani got back into the White House that evening after he called Trump directly and the president had his secretary clear him for entry.
A spokesperson for Giuliani didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.