A Fulton County judge ordered Rudy Giuliani to appear before the Fulton County special grand jury investigating possible crimes in the 2020 election on Aug. 17.
Giuliani was originally ordered to testify before the panel Tuesday, but his lawyers argued that a recent medical operation precluded him from traveling to Georgia via plane. With that in mind, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney gave Giuliani an additional week to comply and suggested he mull other travel options, such as a car, train, or bus.
FULTON PROSECUTORS FLASH GIULIANI PHOTO TO COUNTER GRAND JURY REQUEST
“We do not consent to change the date. We expect to see your client before the grand jury on August 9, 2022, here in Atlanta. We will provide alternate transportation including bus or train if your client maintains that he is unable to fly,” Fulton County prosecutor Will Wooten previously told Giuliani’s legal team.
A lawyer for Giuliani had filed an emergency motion seeking a delay Monday after failing to get approval from the Fulton County inquiry. Giuliani had a heart stent operation in early July, according to his son. His lawyers were adamant that he “has been willing to cooperate” with investigators and that he was in “no way seeking to inappropriately delay.”
Prosecutors countered in court, highlighting a tweet from Giuliani they claimed was evidence he had left New York and was capable of traveling. They also claimed to have evidence that he purchased flight tickets in July, but a lawyer for Giuliani chalked that up to confusion in a court filing Tuesday.
“First, and foremost, conspicuously absent from the state’s pleading is the fact that no such travel ever occurred,” Giuliani’s lawyer, William Thomas, explained. “Prior to his medical procedure, an international organization had invited Mr. Giuliani to attend a conference overseas. The planning and invitation for this event occurred weeks, if not months, prior to Mr. Giuliani’s medical procedure.”
In July, Giuliani was informed that he would be subpoenaed for testimony alongside myriad other Trump allies, such as Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). His subsequent efforts to quash the subpoena in court ultimately failed, and a New York judge ordered him last month to appear before the Fulton County special grand jury.
The subpoena against him cited Giuliani’s December 2020 appearance before a Georgia Senate panel in which he asserted that a video proved election fraud transpired in Georgia’s State Farm Arena. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office subsequently “debunked” those claims, per the subpoena.
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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is investigating whether crimes were committed in Georgia during the aftermath of the 2020 election. A special grand jury was impaneled to help with the investigation and issue subpoenas in May. The investigation began last year after audio surfaced of a call in which then-President Donald Trump stressed to Raffensperger the need to “find” 11,780 votes to reverse his Georgia election loss. Trump has rejected claims of wrongdoing and upheld the call as “perfect.”
Graham is expected to fight the subpoena against him in federal court Wednesday.
