Prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, are using a photo of a smiling Rudy Giuliani to fight his request to delay testimony slated for Tuesday in a grand jury investigation related to the 2020 election.
After Giuliani pleaded with a Fulton County court to delay his testimony due to a medical procedure that he claims has inhibited him from flying for several weeks, prosecutors pointed to the photo posted to his Twitter account a week ago that they say indicates he traveled after his procedure. They also claim to have records showing that he purchased airline tickets after the procedure.
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“The District Attorney has obtained records that indicate that between July 19, 2022, and July 21, 2022, the Witness purchased multiple airline tickets with cash, including tickets to Rome, Italy, and Zurich, Switzerland, for travel dates ranging between July 22, 2022, and July 29, 2022. All of these dates were after the Witness’s medical procedure,” prosecutors argued in court documents filed Monday.
The response included a tweet from Giuliani of a photo he took with entertainment reporter Lauren Conlin earlier this month that prosecutors argue is evidence he traveled outside of New York after receiving the procedure. They offered to assist him in obtaining travel to Fulton County through alternative means instead of air travel.
Having fun in #603 with the best entertainment reporter @conlin_lauren pic.twitter.com/fLNHLSHjab
— Rudy W. Giuliani (@RudyGiuliani) August 1, 2022
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, who is overseeing the Fulton County investigation that had subpoenaed Giuliani for testimony, scheduled an emergency hearing Tuesday on the matter. A New York court previously ordered Giuliani to give testimony to a Fulton County special grand jury investigating whether crimes were committed in the aftermath of the 2020 election.
While Giuliani did not reveal what type of operation he claims to have received in his filing to delay the hearing, his son said he had undergone a heart stent operation in early July. Giuliani’s legal team argued that Giuliani was in “no way seeking to inappropriately delay” and that he “has been willing to cooperate” with investigators.
Giuliani had been subpoenaed for testimony alongside a slew of other Trump allies, including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), in July. He attempted to fight the subpoena in court but failed to show up for his hearing, so a New York judge ordered him to appear before Fulton County investigators. His lawyers cited his recovery as an excuse for missing the hearing in his motion to delay the testimony.
“Mr. Giuliani received notice/service on July 12, 2022, while recovering from a medical procedure, and set it aside until the next morning without looking at the date. When he reviewed it the next morning, he realized that he had missed the court date,” Giuliani’s legal team argued.
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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is investigating crimes committed in Georgia during the aftermath of the 2020 election. She began the inquiry after evidence surfaced that then-President Donald Trump had a call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger stressing the need to “find” 11,780 votes needed to tip the election to him. Trump has denied wrongdoing and hailed the call as “perfect.”
A special grand jury was impaneled in May to assist with subpoenas. In the subpoena of Giuliani, Fulton County investigators pointed to Giuliani’s December 2020 claims before a Georgia Senate panel that a video proved election fraud transpired in Georgia’s State Farm Arena. Raffensperger’s office subsequently “debunked” those claims, according to the Giuliani subpoena.
