Giuliani said to come to Georgia by train, bus or Uber

ATLANTA — Rudolph W. Giuliani, the attorney for former President Donald J. Trump and a central figure in the Georgia election interference investigation, told prosecutors he couldn’t go to the State to appear before a special grand jury because he is not healthy enough to fly.

But on Tuesday, a judge in Fulton County, Georgia, said Mr. Giuliani, who had two heart stents implanted in early July, could travel from New York to Atlanta in another way, and tentatively ordered him to report. to testify in person on August 17.

“Mr. Giuliani is not allowed to travel by plane, AIR,” Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert CI McBurney said. “John Madden traveled all over the country in his big bus, from stadium to stadium So one thing we need to explore is whether Mr. Giuliani could get here without jeopardizing his recovery and his health. On a train or a bus or an Uber or whatever,” he said. , adding: “New York is not close to Atlanta, but it does not travel from Fairbanks.

At a hearing on Tuesday afternoon, the judge also told prosecutors they should let Mr. Giuliani, 78, know if he was the target of the criminal investigation. The office of Fani T. Willis, the Atlanta-area attorney, has already told at least 17 other people, including two state senators and the state’s Republican Party leader, that they are targets .

If Mr. Giuliani is seen as a target, it could prompt him to invoke his Fifth Amendment right and refuse to testify after potentially taking a long car trip. Informing Mr. Giuliani in advance, the judge said, would provide clarity on “the impact this has on the extent of his time before the grand jury.”

The judge also said he could reconsider the August 17 date if Mr Giuliani’s doctor produced a sufficiently convincing medical excuse.

William H. Thomas Jr., an attorney for Mr. Giuliani, said during the hearing that his client would be open to a remote interview via Zoom. Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor working for the district attorney, said the office was not interested and preferred that Mr Giuliani appear in person.

Mr. Giuliani’s role in efforts to reverse Mr. Trump’s 2020 election defeat in Georgia is of interest to Fulton County prosecutors for a number of reasons. As part of the closed-door grand jury proceedings, they questioned several witnesses about Mr. Giuliani’s appearances before two state legislative panels after the 2020 vote, during which he made a number of false statements. allegations of electoral fraud. Mr. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, was also involved in a scheme to create lists of fake pro-Trump presidential voters in a number of swing states. The calling of these voters in Georgia is another subject of inquiry by Ms. Willis.

Lawyers for Mr Giuliani had sought to delay any in-person appearance in Atlanta and this week produced a doctor’s note advising him not to fly anywhere due to the stent procedure. Ms. Willis countered that Mr. Giuliani had recently traveled out of state to New Hampshire and had also bought plane tickets to Europe.

Lawyers for Mr. Giuliani said he drove out of state and the plane tickets were purchased by the organizers of a conference that was eventually canceled. (“No such trip ever took place,” Mr. Giuliani’s lawyers said in court papers.)

Judge McBurney said Mr Giuliani had plenty of time to get from New York to Atlanta, suggesting he could break up a 13-hour road trip into segments. “Maybe he goes down to Washington, as the first part, and reconnects with the people there, then travels a few more hours.”