Giuliani appears in investigation into US elections

ATLANTA — Rudy Giuliani was being questioned by a grand jury Wednesday as part of the investigation into attempts by then-President Donald Trump and his associates to reverse his defeat in Georgia during the 2020 election. The session will be closed because of because grand jury proceedings are confidential.

News cameras swarmed around Giuliani as he got out of a limousine with his attorney Robert Costello and entered the Fulton County courthouse in Atlanta. Giuliani warned reporters that he will not speak about his testimony.

“Grand juries, as far as I remember, are confidential,” Giuliani told reporters. “They will ask me questions and then we will see.”

Grand jury rules prohibit those present from discussing the testimony offered, although that does not apply to witnesses. Giuliani was at one time a federal prosecutor.

It’s unclear what Giuliani — a former New York City mayor and Trump attorney — will be willing to say now that his attorneys have been notified that he is the subject of the investigation.

Although the proceedings are confidential, Giuliani’s appearance is another step in a rapidly expanding investigation that has already encompassed several Trump allies and brought more scrutiny to failed efforts to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election. It is one of several ongoing investigations into Trump, who is considering running for president again in 2024.

Fulton County Attorney Fani Willis began her investigation after an unusual phone call was revealed on January 2, 2021, in which Trump himself asked then-Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” the necessary votes to alter the election results in Georgia.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has called the call “perfect.”

Willis called seven Trump advisers and associates to testify last month. She has also indicated that she is considering calling Trump himself to testify. The former president has hired a prominent attorney in Atlanta.

When she called Giuliani to testify, Willis noted that Giuliani was Trump’s personal attorney and was also chief legal counsel for Trump’s 2020 election campaign.