WASHINGTON — Rudy Giuliani spent more than six hours at a courthouse in Atlanta on Wednesday to provide testimony before a grand jury that's looking into possible 2020 election interference, days after he was informed he's a "target" of the criminal probe.
It wasn't immediately clear what questions Giuliani was asked during the closed-door testimony at the Fulton County courthouse. He left the building in an SUV through a secure underground garage and didn't speak to reporters.
A judge last week ordered Giuliani, Donald Trump's former personal attorney and the former mayor of New York City, to appear in person before the special grand jury handling the case. Lawyers for Giuliani had sought to delay the testimony, arguing he was unable to fly to Georgia from New York because of a recent medical procedure, but the judge ordered him to appear, even if it meant finding an alternative means of transportation.
Lawyers for Giuliani were told Monday that he is a “target” of the inquiry, attorney Robert Costello said. Initially, as part of their efforts to compel Giuliani’s testimony, Georgia prosecutors told New York courts that Giuliani was only a material witness.
The grand jury, called by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, subpoenaed Giuliani early last month as a material witness as part of an investigation into what she characterized as “coordinated attempts to unlawfully alter the outcome of the 2020 elections.” The subpoena alleged Giuliani made statements at legislative hearings in Georgia falsely claiming that there had been “widespread voter fraud” in the state.
A New York judge initially ordered Giuliani to testify after he failed to appear at a July 13 hearing to challenge the Georgia subpoena.
A lawyer for Giuliani, Bill Thomas, said the former New York City mayor did his duty by showing up, according to Reuters.
“We were ordered to be here, we showed up, we did what we have to do. The special grand jury process is a secret process, and we’re gonna respect that process," Thomas said, according to Reuters.
