Radio station suspends Giuliani for flouting ban
NEW YORK — Rudy Giuliani was suspended Friday from WABC Radio and his daily show canceled over what the station called his repeated violation of a ban on discussing discredited 2020 election claims. Giuliani said the station’s ban is overly broad and “a clear violation of free speech.”
Giuliani issued a statement saying he had heard of WABC Radio owner John Catsimatidis’ decision through “a leak” to The New York Times. Catsimatidis confirmed his decision in a text message to The Associated Press.
Giuliani “left me no option,” Catsimatidis told the Times, saying the former New York City mayor had been warned twice not to discuss “fallacies of the November 2020 election.”
“And I get a text from him last night, and I get a text from him this morning that he refuses not to talk about it,” the Republican businessman, who has fundraised for Donald Trump, told the newspaper.
As Trump’s personal attorney, Giuliani was a key figure in the former president’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election results and remain in office.
Giuliani disputed that he had been informed ahead of time of the ban.
“John is now telling reporters that I was informed ahead of time of these restrictions, which is demonstrably untrue,” Giuliani said in a statement. Later Friday, in a video stream on social media, Giuliani noted he has talked repeatedly, for years, on his show about claims the election was stolen, maybe even on every program, or every other program.
“If there was such a policy, I’d be crazy to keep doing it,” Giuliani said. “You think I’m a fool?”
A letter obtained by the AP from Catsimatidis to Giuliani and dated Thursday said Giuliani was prohibited from engaging in discussions relating to the 2020 elections.
“These specific topics include, but are not limited to, the legitimacy of the election results, allegations of fraud effectuated by election workers, and your personal lawsuits relating to these allegations,” the letter said.
Ted Goodman, Giuliani’s spokesperson and adviser, said Giuliani had not known of the directive before Thursday.
“WABC’s decision comes at a very suspicious time, just months before the 2024 election, and just as John and WABC continue to be pressured by Dominion Voting Systems and the Biden regime’s lawyers,” Giuliani said in his statement.