Rudy Giuliani, who served as former President Donald Trump’s attorney, has been notified that he is under criminal investigation in Georgia for matters related to the 2020 presidential election.
Giuliani’s lawyers revealed on Monday that they had been informed that he is a “target” in Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis’ investigation into efforts to overturn the election results.
The New York Times reported that prosecutors had questioned witnesses before a special grand jury about remarks that Giuliani made during appearances in front of state legislative panels the month after the 2020 election.
Giuliani tried to delay having to testify before the special grand jury by saying that a recent medical procedure would prevent him from being able to travel.
However, Willis’ office obtained records showing that he had “purchased multiple airline tickets with cash, including tickets to Rome, Italy, and Zurich, Switzerland” for dates that “were after” his “medical procedure.”
Giuliani is now scheduled to testify Wednesday at a courthouse in Atlanta.
“If these people think he’s going to talk about conversations between him and President Trump, they’re delusional,” Giuliani attorney Robert Costello said.
The FBI executed a search warrant on Trump’s Florida home at Mar-a-Lago last week which was approved by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Multiple sources told The New York Times that at least one of Trump’s lawyers signed a written statement to the U.S. Department of Justice earlier this summer that claimed all classified material and boxes in a storage area on the property had been returned to the federal government. Agents searched the storage area and Trump’s office and residence on the property.
Federal investigators recovered at least 4 sets of top secret documents, 3 sets of secret documents, and 3 sets of confidential documents during their search.
The signed declaration, combined with the at least 11 sets of classified documents that were discovered on the property, could mean that either Trump or his legal team potentially lied to federal investigators.
The sections of the U.S. criminal code that were cited on the search warrant indicate the investigation centers around potential violations of the Espionage Act, the unlawful taking of government records, and obstruction of justice related to destroying documents.
Trump has repeatedly stated that he had declassified all the material that was at his Florida residence, which he could have legally done when he was president, although a separate report from The New York Times noted that usually when that happens, classified markings are removed from the documents. The report noted that none of the criminal violations that Trump is under investigation for have anything to do with whether the documents were classified or not, meaning that Trump could still be charged with a crime even if he did declassify the documents.
Reporting from The Daily Wire.
