- Rudy Giuliani said a recent procedure prevented him from flying to testify before a grand jury.
- But local Georgia prosecutors pointed to evidence that he had traveled recently.
- A judge is holding a hearing Tuesday on Giuliani’s request to delay his grand jury testimony.
A week before Rudy Giuliani was due to appear before a grand jury in Georgia, his lawyers contacted local prosecutors to inform them that a recent medical procedure would prevent the former New York mayor from traveling to Atlanta, according to court records.
But his request to delay Tuesday’s grand jury appearance was met with little sympathy from the office of Fanny Willis, the Fulton County prosecutor investigating former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia. Instead, Willis’ office responded with receipts — and a tweet from New Hampshire — suggesting that Giuliani, in fact, had no problem traveling.
In a filing in court On Monday, local prosecutors in Georgia said they obtained documents showing that Giuliani had “purchased multiple plane tickets with cash, including tickets to Rome, Italy, and Zurich, Switzerland,” for flights between 22 and July 29. (Willis’ office shut down unless it says Giuliani took those robberies.)
“All of these dates were after the witness’ medical procedure,” wrote a prosecutor, referring to Giuliani, on the eve of his scheduled grand jury appearance.
“Finally,” added the prosecutor, “in light of the letter provided to the district attorney suggesting that the witness was not authorized to travel by plane, the district attorney offered to offer alternative means of transportation for the witness, including the bus or train.” The filing included a screenshot of an Aug. 1 social media post depicting Giuliani in New Hampshire.
A tweet showed Rudy Giuliani in New Hampshire after undergoing an unspecified medical procedure.
Fulton County Attorney’s Office
A Fulton County judge responded by setting a hearing for 12:30 p.m. Tuesday on Giuliani’s “urgent” request to delay his grand jury appearance. An attorney for Giuliani, William H. Thomas Jr., declined to comment.
In a separate court file On Monday, Thomas acknowledged that Giuliani had traveled from New York to New Hampshire following his unspecified medical procedure. But he pointed out, in italics, that Giuliani made the trip “by a private car of which he was the passenger”.
Showing a doctor’s note, Thomas said it was ‘air travel he was not cleared for’. But Willis’ office, he wrote, “remained firm in its refusal to accept an extension.” Thomas added that Giuliani would appear before the grand jury virtually, but Willis’ office demanded in-person testimony.
“It is important to note here that Mr. Giuliani is [sic] in no way seek to delay or inappropriately obstruct these proceedings or to avoid giving evidence or testimony which is not the subject of a claim of privilege in this matter,” Thomas wrote. other words, he is and has been willing to cooperate in this matter subject to any ethical obligations that may prevent such cooperation.”
In recent weeks, Fulton County Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis has moved quickly to obtain additional testimony in his investigation into Trump.
AP Photo/Ben Gray, File
Fani Willis’ Aggressive Moves
Court documents filed Monday highlighted a dispute between local Georgia prosecutors and Giuliani’s lawyers in preparation for his scheduled grand jury appearance investigating election interference by Trump and his allies. in the state.
As part of the investigation, local prosecutors are examining a now infamous phone call Trump made to Georgian Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger urging him to ‘find’ enough votes to overturn his loss to Joe Biden. .
Willis has moved aggressively those last weeks. In addition to winning a court battle forcing Giuliani to testify before a grand jury, his office has prosecuted fake voters who backed Trump and subpoena Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, urging legal observers to consider the Georgia investigation one of the most perilous for the former president.
After the 2020 election, Giuliani was among the former president’s allies who took part in a program to create lists of so-called alternative lists of pro-Trump voters in key battleground states, including the Georgia. Court documents revealed that Willis’ office informed the 16 pro-Trump voters in Georgia that they could face charges as part of the criminal investigation.
In December 2020, Giuliani appeared in person before two committees of the Georgia state legislature, where he spent hours peddling false conspiracy theories about voter fraud. “You can’t certify Georgia in good faith,” he reportedly told lawmakers.
The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol also highlighted Giuliani’s efforts in Georgia. In June, one of the committee’s public hearings featured the testimony of Wandrea Moss “Shaye”a former Georgia election official who was the target of a conspiracy theory circulated by Trump and Giuliani alleging she processed fake ballots for Biden.
“It’s turned my life upside down. I’m not giving out my business card anymore…I don’t want anyone to know my name,” Moss said, in emotional testimony before the House panel on Jan. 6. “I don’t go grocery shopping at all. I haven’t been anywhere. I gained about 60 pounds. I don’t do anything anymore.”