Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Tribune News Service
Tribune News Service
National
Tamar Hallerman

Judge orders Giuliani to testify before Fulton County grand jury

ATLANTA — Rudy Giuliani, former President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, is being ordered to appear in front of a Fulton County special grand jury next month after failing to attend a hearing in New York to challenge a recent subpoena.

A court filing submitted Wednesday morning stated that Giuliani didn’t appear before New York State Supreme Court Justice Thomas Farber on July 13 to argue why the court shouldn’t honor the Georgia subpoena, technically known as a certificate of material witness.

As a result, Farber ordered Giuliani to appear and testify before the Fulton grand jury beginning on Aug. 9, “and on any such other dates as this Court may order.”

Giuliani’s lawyer Robert J. Costello did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis on Wednesday said she’s “grateful to the prosecutors and investigators in District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office, who efficiently and effectively secured a New York court order compelling Mr. Giuliani, an important witness, to appear before the Fulton County Special Purpose Grand Jury. "

Giuliani was one of seven Trump confidantes whose subpoenas were approved by a Fulton judge earlier this month.

Many of those witnesses are expected to cite attorney-client privilege to try and block questioning. South Carolina U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, who was also subpoenaed, has cited the U.S. Constitution’s “Speech or Debate” clause in his recent challenge.

The 23-person special grand jury, which is examining potential criminal meddling in Georgia’s 2020 elections, has indicated it’s interested in testimony Giuliani and others gave before Georgia legislators in late 2020. Giuliani screened edited surveillance video of ballots being tabulated at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena, which he described as a “powerful smoking gun” showing widespread election fraud.

Giuliani’s claims were quickly debunked by the Georgia Secretary of State’s office, but he continued to share the video and doubled down on his comments in the weeks after. He was later suspended from practicing law in New York, in part because of his testimony in Georgia.

His subpoena says there’s evidence that Giuliani was “part of a multi-state, coordinated plan by the Trump Campaign to influence the results of the November 2020 election in Georgia and elsewhere.”

If Giuliani doesn’t show up in Atlanta on Aug. 9, a judge can issue what’s known as a “material witness warrant” to arrest and detain him until he can appear before the grand jury.

———

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.