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After seeing headlines today about Rudy Giuliani facing a criminal investigation, it’s necessary to pause and wonder which of his scandals the headlines refer to. Are we talking about the former New York City mayor’s dealings in Ukraine? No, not that scandal.
Are we talking about the Justice Department’s investigation into Giuliani’s role in the fake-elector controversy? No, not that scandal, either.
Are we talking about the Republican’s legal troubles surrounding the lies he told about voting-machine companies? No, not that scandal, either.
Are we talking about his efforts to get a presidential pardon before Donald Trump left the White House? No, not that scandal, either.
Today, as NBC News reported, we’re talking about Giuliani’s intensifying mess in Georgia.
Rudy Giuliani is a “target” of the criminal investigation into possible 2020 election interference in Georgia by former President Donald Trump and others, his attorney told NBC News. The lawyer, Robert Costello, said the Georgia prosecutors initially told New York courts — as part of their efforts to compel Giuliani’s testimony — that Giuliani was a material witness. Now, Costello said they were informed Monday that he is a “target” of the probe.
As my MSNBC colleague Ja’han Jones noted earlier, Giuliani has “tried — and failed — to wiggle his way out of a subpoena to testify in the case. He was ordered last week to testify in person on Wednesday.”
Now that he’s been informed that he’s a target in this criminal case, he’ll likely invoke his Fifth Amendment rights.
As for what Giuliani allegedly did to land in hot water, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis empaneled a grand jury to investigate alleged attempts to unlawfully alter the outcome of the 2020 elections in Georgia. A recent New York Times report explained:
The crux of his conduct came during two hearings in December 2020, when Mr. Giuliani appeared before state legislative panels and spent hours peddling false conspiracy theories about secret suitcases of Democratic ballots and corrupted voting machines. He told members of the State House, “You cannot possibly certify Georgia in good faith.” He was also a central figure in the Trump campaign’s plan to urge lawmakers in swing states to appoint fake electors, which is part of the Georgia inquiry as well as the Justice Department investigation.
A separate New York Times report also highlighted a recent state appellate court ruling that resulted in the suspension of his law license: “The court issued a 33-page report that mentioned Georgia 35 times and described ‘numerous false and misleading statements regarding the Georgia presidential election results’ made by Mr. Giuliani. The court noted, for instance, that Mr. Giuliani had falsely claimed that tens of thousands of underage teenagers had voted illegally in Georgia, even though an audit by Georgia’s secretary of state found that no one under the age of 18 had voted in the 2020 election.”
All of which suggests the former mayor has a real problem on his hands.