Rudolph Giuliani, former attorney for Donald Trump, in Washington in November 2020. Jacquelyn Martin (AP)
Of all the lawsuits facing former President Donald Trump, the one in Georgia is at the heart of the investigation into his attempts to overturn the election results. The Republican’s siege has intensified after it was revealed that Rudolph Giuliani, who was his attorney, faces a criminal investigation for his alleged involvement in the attempted manipulation.
Giuliani is scheduled to appear before a special grand jury in an Atlanta court on Monday after his efforts to avoid testifying were denied by a judge in that state on the 9th last week. Giuliani excused his appearance by arguing that he had two stents placed in early July and was unable to fly, to which Judge Robert CI McBurney replied, “You can come by train, bus, Uber, whatever.” Giuliani received the subpoena in May, as the grand jury hearings began.
The former New York Mayor, who led the offensive to keep Trump in power despite Joe Biden’s election victory, has become a central figure in recent weeks in Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis’s investigation into the most encompasses of Atlanta. So far this summer, prosecutors have questioned two of the seven witnesses summoned before the grand jury into Giuliani’s testimony in December 2020, when he spent hours spreading false theories about vote-rigging.
Of all the subpoenas, Giuliani’s profile offers the greatest target for attack because of his political relevance among Republicans (his son Andrew was a candidate for governor of New York in the primary). In filings before the Georgia state legislature in December 2020, the former New York mayor claimed to have uncovered fraud involving two poll workers. To back up his claims, Giuliani played edited video of Fulton County officials allegedly pulling suitcases of Democratic votes from under a table to proceed with the move. He also spread the hoax that there were rigged voting machines.
His attorney, Robert Costello, told the New York Times today that his representative is unlikely to testify because of his client Trump’s confidentiality clause. Prosecutors will be very “disappointed,” the attorney warned, if they expect Giuliani to expand on his talks with the Republican.
Prosecutor Willis has already received a statement from Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, the primary recipient of Trump’s calls to reverse the outcome, and Gov. Brian Kemp, who testified in late July. The incumbent president contacted both in the weeks following the election, urging them to seek enough votes to tip the results in his favour. Governor Kemp, who once refused to cheat to please his leader, won the Georgia primary against all odds, inflicting significant backlash on Trump, who had orchestrated a violent campaign against him. Giuliani is the third heavyweight, while the other four witnesses are attorneys for the presidential team.
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An eighth witness for the prosecution, Senator Lindsay Graham, who is theoretically protected, has tried to get out of the case, but his immunity failed to convince a federal judge, who referred him to the Georgia grand jury on Monday at the August 23 hearing. Graham denies calling Raffensperger in the weeks following the election and is said to be urging him to refuse postal ballot paperwork.
The special grand jury cannot indict or impose penalties, which is the duty of prosecutors, but it can subpoena witnesses and order the production of documents related to the investigation.
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