Giuliani won’t testify today in 2020 Ga. election probe
Rudy Giuliani will not appear as scheduled today before a special grand jury in Atlanta that’s investigating whether former President Donald Trump and others illegally tried to interfere in the 2020 general election in Georgia, his lawyer said.
A judge last month had ordered Giuliani, a Trump lawyer and former New York City mayor, to appear before the special grand jury today.
But Giuliani’s attorney, Robert Costello, told The Associated Press on Monday that Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, who’s overseeing the special grand jury, had excused Giuliani for the day.
“Judge Robert McBurney excused him pending a hearing tomorrow on the motion to continue,” Costello wrote in a text message.
McBurney has scheduled a hearing for 12:30 p.m. today to hear arguments on a court filing from Giuliani seeking to delay his appearance. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis asked the judge to deny Giuliani’s request for a delay and to instruct him to appear before the special grand jury as ordered.
Willis opened an investigation last year, and a special grand jury with subpoena power was seated in May at her request.
Last month she filed petitions seeking to compel testimony from seven Trump advisers and associates, including Giuliani. Because they don’t live in Georgia, she had to use a process that involves getting a judge in the state where they live to order them to appear.
New York Supreme Court Justice Thomas Farber on July 13 issued an order directing Giuliani to appear before the special grand jury on Aug. 9 and on any other dates ordered by the court in Atlanta.
Giuliani attorney William Thomas asked the judge to delay Giuliani’s appearance. He explained that Giuliani missed a hearing, because
he was recovering from a medical procedure and subsequently learned he’d been ordered to appear in Atlanta.
On Aug. 2, a lawyer for Giuliani asked Willis’ office to
delay his appearance because a medical procedure prevented him from traveling. That request was rejected after Willis’ team found evidence that he had traveled since his medical procedure.
But Willis noted her team had records that found between July 19 and July 21, Giuliani bought airline tickets to Rome, Italy, and Zürich, Switzerland, for travel dates between July 22-29. If Giuliani is not cleared for air travel, Willis wrote, her team offered to provide him with either bus or train fare.