Rudy Giuliani faces grand jury in Georgia 2020 election investigation

News cameras swarmed as Giuliani stepped out of a limousine with his attorney, Robert Costello, on Wednesday morning and then walked up the steps into the Fulton County courthouse in Atlanta. Giuliani told reporters he would not discuss his testimony.

“As I recall, grand juries are secret,” Giuliani told reporters. “They ask questions, and we’ll see.” The grand jury secrecy rule prohibits those present during grand jury testimony from discussing it, but the ban does not apply to witnesses. Giuliani is a former federal prosecutor.

It’s unclear how much the former New York mayor and Trump’s lawyers are willing to say, since his lawyers have been told he is the target of an investigation. Because the special grand jury process is secret, the inquest will be held behind closed doors.

Giuliani’s appearance, however, is another high-profile step in a rapidly escalating investigation that has drawn several Trump allies and desperation to oust Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory and efforts that ultimately failed have come under greater scrutiny. It is one of several investigations into Trump’s conduct in office as he lays the groundwork for another campaign in the White House in 2024.

On January 2, 2021, Fulton County District Attorney Fanny Willis, after an extraordinary phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger was revealed. (Fani Willis) begins her investigation. During the conference call, Trump suggested that Raffinsburg could “find” the exact number of votes needed to reverse the Georgia election result.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing. He described the call as “perfect.” Willis filed a petition last month asking seven of Trump’s colleagues and advisers to testify. She also said she was considering calling Trump himself to testify, and the former president has hired a legal team in Atlanta that includes a prominent criminal defense attorney.

In seeking testimony from Giuliani, Willis noted that he is both Trump’s personal attorney and his lead attorney for the 2020 campaign.

In a petition, she recalled how Giuliani and others appeared at a state Senate committee meeting in late 2020 and showed a video Giuliani said showed election workers watching election polling observers outside the production of “suitcases” of illegal ballots from unknown sources. Georgia election officials debunked fraud allegations within 24 hours. However, Willis noted in her filing that Giuliani continued to make statements to the public and to claim widespread election fraud using the debunked video during subsequent legislative hearings.

Two election workers, Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, seen in the video, said Giuliani was present at the Dec. 3 Georgia legislative hearing where they faced relentless online and in-person harassment. At another hearing a week later, Giuliani said the video showed the women “sneaking around USB ports as if they were a bottle of heroin or cocaine.” They are actually passing a piece of candy.

Giuliani’s hearing and testimony were “part of a coordinated multistate plan by the Trump campaign to influence the outcome of the November 2020 elections in Georgia and elsewhere,” Willis wrote in court documents. Willis also wrote in a petition calling for the testimony of attorney Kenneth Chesebro, who worked with Giuliani to coordinate and execute a lawsuit that had Georgia Republicans acting as fake voters. s plan. Those 16 people signed a certificate declaring falsely that Trump had won the 2020 presidential election and declaring themselves the state’s “duly elected and qualified” electors even though Biden had won the state and a slate of Democratic electors was certified.

Giuliani’s attorneys have sought to delay his appearance before a special grand jury, saying he was unable to fly due to a heart stent procedure in early July.

But Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, who oversees the special grand jury, said at a hearing last week that Giuliani needed to be in Atlanta on Wednesday and could travel by bus, car or train if necessary.

When asked how he traveled, Giuliani told reporters: “I’ll give you an answer: I didn’t walk.” Other Trump allies have also been drawn into the investigation. South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham received a subpoena to testify in court on August 23. Graham challenged the subpoena, citing his protection as a congressman. On Monday, a judge dismissed the argument, saying he had to testify. Graham said he would appeal.

Willis said she was interested in a phone conversation between Graham and Ravensberg about Georgia’s results in the weeks after the election.