President Donald Trump on Wednesday dismissed the significance of repeated contacts between his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and phone numbers linked to the White House and its budget office � contacts that were revealed in the House intelligence committee�s impeachment report.

�So somebody said he made a phone call into the White House. What difference does that make?� Trump commented during his meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on the sidelines of a NATO meeting Wednesday in London.

�Is that supposed to be a big deal?�� he added. �I don�t think so.�

The 300-page House report is serving as the basis for the House Judiciary Committee�s efforts beginning Wednesday to formally move forward on drafting articles of impeachment against Trump.

The report includes phone records obtained from AT&T and Verizon, showing extensive contact between Giuliani and the White House. On April 24, Giuliani had three calls with a number associated with the Office of Management and Budget, and eight calls with a White House number, the documents show.

But Trump on Wednesday insisted he knew nothing about the calls. He defended Giuliani as a �very good lawyer,� a �great crime fighter� and �the best mayor in the history of New York City.�

�Rudy is a great gentleman and they�re after him only because he�s done such a good job. He was very effective against Mueller and the Mueller hoax,� Trump said, referring to former special counsel Robert Mueller�s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

He also encouraged reporters to ask Giuliani about the calls, but claimed they are �no big deal.�

Giuliani has long pushed the debunked conspiracy theory that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election and worked to push Ukrainian officials to investigate the son of Trump�s potential Democratic challenger, Joe Biden. Hunter Biden was on the board of a Ukrainian energy company.

(AP)