United States
Trump confidant Giuliani before jury
Trump confidante Rudy Giuliani is the target of a criminal investigation related to the 2020 election. Photo
© John Bazemore/AP/dpa
Did Donald Trump and his camp influence the 2020 US election? Criminal investigators in Georgia are dealing with this question these days. Trump’s former lawyer Rudy Giuliani is also in focus.
Former US President Donald Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani has appeared before a Georgia jury on a criminal investigation related to the 2020 election. According to US media reports, he spent more than six hours in an Atlanta courthouse. There he was questioned by a so-called grand jury. A grand jury is called in to review evidence in possible crime cases and decide whether to press charges.
The investigation is about a possible influence on the 2020 presidential election by Trump and his camp. Prosecutor Fani Willis in Fulton County, Georgia, launched an investigation last year. The background is a phone call between Trump and Georgia’s chief election supervisor, Brad Raffensperger.
Trump had asked Raffensperger in the conversation to “find” the missing votes in order to overturn the narrow election victory of his opponent Joe Biden in the state. Several Trump allies have been asked to testify before a jury that has now been set up. In July, Willis did not rule out summoning ex-President Trump on NBC.
TV pictures now showed Giuliani arriving in front of the courthouse. He declined to comment on the investigation when asked. “We won’t talk about it until it’s over,” he told the press. It was initially unclear what questions the grand jury asked Giuliani and whether he gave answers. Hours later, the 78-year-old left the court in an SUV through a secured underground car park, NBC reported. Giuliani’s lawyer had previously made it clear that his client would invoke attorney-client privilege if he was asked questions about his talks with Trump.