A New York judge has ordered Rudy Giuliani to testify before the Georgia special grand jury hearing evidence in an investigation into possible 2020 election interference by former President Donald Trump and others, court filings show.
The order came after Giuliani, who was Trump’s personal attorney, failed to appear at a July 13 hearing before the judge to challenge a subpoena for his testimony in the investigation.
Giuliani was subpoenaed earlier this month as a "material witness" by the grand jury called by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to investigate any “coordinated attempts to unlawfully alter the outcome of the 2020 elections.” The subpoena said Giuliani made statements at legislative hearings in Georgia falsely claiming that there had been "widespread voter fraud" in the state.
“There is evidence that [Giuliani’s] appearance and testimony at the hearing was part of a multi-state, coordinated plan by the Trump Campaign to influence the results of the November 2020 election in Georgia and elsewhere,” the subpoena said.
In a filing in Fulton County Superior Court on Wednesday, Willis said Giuliani has been ordered to appear before the grand jury on August 9 "and on any such other dates as this court may order."
A lawyer for Giuliani did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The special grand jury has also subpoenaed other members of Trump’s former legal team.
Separately, a Fulton County judge has ordered Sen. Lindsey Graham to testify before the grand jury on Aug. 2 after the senator's lawyers had indicated he wouldn't comply with the grand jury's subpoena for his testimony. The subpoena seeks about phone calls he made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his staff about the 2020 election.
Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga., a Trump ally who voted to reject the state-certified election results, is also fighting a subpoena to testify before the grand jury.
Meanwhile, nearly a dozen of Georgia’s false presidential electors revealed they’ve been subpoenaed to appear before the grand jury as well, according to a court filing. An attorney for Willis said in a separate filing that all 16 of the false electors have been notified they are targets of her investigation.
