Atlanta, Georgia – Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has been informed that he is a “target” of a criminal investigation in Georgia investigating efforts to nullify the results of the 2020 election, according to people familiar with the matter.
The sources said Giuliani’s lawyer had received a call earlier on Monday informing him that he was the target of the investigation.
The move comes just two days before Giuliani is ready to testify before a special grand jury, and the Georgia investigation appears to be growing.
Giuliani is still expected to testify on Wednesday.
Previously, 16 fake voters in the state were reported to be “targets” of the investigation.
Last week, a local attorney for Giuliani said in a public hearing that Giuliani’s legal team had been inquiring with the attorney general “whether or not Mr. Giuliani was the target of this investigation” but “has not yet received a response”.
An investigative grand jury does not have the power to return an indictment and can only make recommendations for criminal prosecution.
Another grand jury would be needed to bring charges.
Separately, a federal judge said Monday that U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham should testify before a special grand jury.
Graham’s lawyers argued that his position as a US senator gave him immunity from having to appear before the investigative committee and asked the judge to cancel his subpoena, but US District Judge Lee Martin May wrote in an order Monday that the immunities related to his role as a senator did not protect him from Having to testify.
Graham’s subpoena was ordered to appear before the special grand jury on August 23, but his office said Monday that it plans to file an appeal with the 11th U.S. Court of Appeals.
The Fulton County District Attorney, Fanny Willis, opened the investigation last year, and a special grand jury with subpoena power was formed at her request this year.
Last month, petitions were filed seeking testimony from seven Trump advisers and aides.
Prosecutors indicated they wanted to ask Graham about phone calls they said he had with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Ravensberger and his staff in the weeks after Trump lost the election to Democrat Joe Biden.
Graham argued that a provision of the Constitution provided absolute protection against questioning a senator on legislative acts. But the judge found that there were “significant areas of potential grand jury investigation” that fell outside the scope of this provision. The judge also rejected Graham’s argument that the principle of “sovereign immunity” protects a senator from subpoena by the attorney general.
Graham also argued that Willis, a Democrat, did not show the unusual circumstances necessary to compel testimony from a high-ranking official. But the judge disagreed, finding that Willis showed “exceptional circumstances and a special need” for Graham’s testimony on issues related to an alleged attempt to influence or disrupt elections in Georgia.
Judge May last month rejected a similar attempt by U.S. Representative Judy Hayes, of the Republic of Georgia, to avoid testifying before a special grand jury.
Graham’s office said in a statement Monday that the senator does not agree with the judge’s interpretation of a provision of the Constitution that he believes protects him from questioning by a state official. His attorneys said he was making inquiries that were clearly part of his legislative duties, relating to the ratification of the vote and the proposing of election-related legislation.
But the judge wrote that this ignores “the fact that individuals in the calls publicly indicated that Senator Graham was not only engaged in legislative fact-finding, but was suggesting or implying that Georgia election officials are altering their processes or otherwise altering state results.”
In calls made shortly after the 2020 general election, Graham questioned “Secretary Ravensberger and his staff about reexamining certain absentee ballots cast in Georgia in order to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump,” Willis wrote. in a petition.
She wrote that Graham “has also referred to allegations of widespread voter fraud in the November 2020 elections in Georgia, consistent with public statements made by known associates of the Trump campaign.”
Republican and Democratic election officials across the country, courts, and even Trump’s attorney general have found that there is no evidence of any election fraud enough to influence the outcome of his loss in the 2020 presidential election.
Trump-aligned lawmakers had planned to challenge numbers from several battlefield states when Congress met on January 6, 2021 to ratify results under the Electoral Counting Act, but after the Capitol attack that day, Georgia’s tally was never challenged.
Willis confirmed that the scope of the investigation includes a January 2, 2021 phone call between Trump and Ravensburger in which Trump urged Ravensburger to “find” enough votes to reverse his loss in Georgia.
“I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is more than we have,” Trump said during that call.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing and described his call to Ravensberger as “perfect.”
(The Associated Press contributed to this report)
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