rudy giuliani says the us has 'gone off the rails' he says his 'dominion' election fraud claims are'substantially true

Donald Trump's embattled ex-lawyer Rudy Giuliani said he hasn't gone off the rails and denied claims he's an alcoholic in a newly-released interview Friday.

The former New York City mayor is currently caught between a $1.3 billion lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems over claims he made about the 2020 election, and a narrowing federal probe into his dealings in Ukraine on Trump's behalf.

'I haven't changed at all,' Giuliani defiantly told NBC 4 New York when asked about his diminished reputation.

'What's happened is our country has gone off the rails.'

Speaking at the World Trade Center Memorial ahead of the 20th anniversary of 9/11, Giuliani said he was aware of the criticism but shrugged it off.

He took a similar attitude over longstanding rumors that he's got a drinking problem - and denied ever hitting the bottle before an interview.

'I don't think I've ever done an interview drunk. I have sometimes - I mean, I drink normally. I like scotch. I drink scotch,' Giuliani said.

Interviewer Melissa Russo pressed him, 'So you do not believe that you have a drinking problem?'

Giuliani spoke with a local New York network at the World Trade Center Memorial ahead of the 20th anniversary of 9/11

In the interview he can be seen posing and joking with fans

At other times he was heckled by passerby, like when he was told 'I loved your work in Borat 2!'

'I don't only believe it, I know I'm not,' Giuliani answered laughing. 'I mean - I, no, I'm not an alcoholic. I'm a functioning - I probably function more effectively than 90 percent of the population.'

At one point he had to stop speaking because of a passerby yelling, 'I loved your work in Borat 2!' 

Giuliani said he worked '12 to 15 hours a day' - but he's been suspended from practicing law in New York City and Washington, DC over claims he made regarding the 2020 election.

Those same baseless election fraud claims earned him a defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems which he failed to get dismissed earlier this month. 

In a Wednesday court filing Giuliani indicated he's still sticking by allegations that the company's voting machines were rigged in favor of Joe Biden.

His attorney wrote the claims are 'substantially true' despite acknowledging Giuliani 'lacks knowledge or sufficient information' on the company's voting software to be aware of whether they are defamatory.

The former Trump lawyer is being sued by Dominion Voting Systems for $1.3 billion for claims he made about the 2020 election, including comments at this November 19 press conference

After the November election Giuliani helped spread wild claims like Dominion was financially backed by 'communist money' from Cuba and China.  

His actions before the election, specifically his dealings in Ukraine, are under scrutiny as well. 

A federal probe resulted in a raid of his home and office in late April. Investigators seized 18 electronic devices belonging to him and his employees.

In the months leading up to Election Day Giuliani took on a pressure campaign against the Ukrainian government to force it to open an investigation into the Bidens. 

'They can torture me all they want, they can put me in prison,' Giuliani said of the probe. 

'Do you think charges might be imminent?' he's asked.

'If they charge me they'll have to make it up,' Giuliani answered.

Giuliani laughed off the fact that federal investigators may be struggling to access his technology

'Giuliani insists he's committed no crime, but he repeatedly brings up jail,' the interviewer noted in a voiceover.

He appeared to mock federal investigators and said they couldn't unlock his phone - adding he would cooperate if they were 'nicer.'

'I don't think they've been able to get in,' he said. 'Which is why they won't give it back. '

'If they were nicer I would help them, but they're not nice, they've been investigating me for two and a half years, and I've been offering to go there and explain anything they want.'

He said his mounting legal fees are a sign the 'country is in terrible danger.'

'I believe the Justice Department has been completely subverted and politicized.' 

On Friday morning Giuliani bashed President Joe Biden over the Afghanistan crisis, writing on Twitter: 'Would a leader of sound mind take out his military, and then evacuate the rest of the people he is sworn to protect?'

'Shouldn’t this unfit leader be removed from office before he gets more people killed? ANY CABINET MEMBER WANT A CHAPTER IN JFK’s “PROFILES IN COURAGE?”'

The day before, in the wake of a deadly attack on Kabul airport, he called Biden 'demonstrably unfit' for office and blamed him for the dead of 13 US service members.