Rudy Giuliani a ‘target’ of Fulton County prosecutors|Rep. Scott Perry’s phone seized by FBI
Fulton County
Lindsey Graham
A federal judge ordered Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to testify before a Fulton County grand jury investigating Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
District Judge Leigh Martin May, an Obama appointee, ruled on Monday that Graham’s position as a senator does not shield him from the subpoena:
“Individuals on the calls have publicly suggested that Senator Graham was not simply engaged in legislative factfinding but was instead suggesting or implying that Georgia election officials change their processes or otherwise potentially alter the state’s results…[T]he Court finds that the District Attorney has shown extraordinary circumstances and a special need for Senator Graham’s testimony,” the judge wrote.
Graham is scheduled to appear as a witness in Atlanta in front of the special grand jury on August 23, but he has indicated that he will appeal Judge May’s decision.
Rudy Giuliani
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled last week that Rudy Giuliani must testify in person before the same grand jury on August 17th.
Giuliani had attempted to have his testimony delayed until late September, citing a recent heart surgery that prevented him from flying.
On Monday, Giuliani’s attorney, Bill Thomas, wrote in a court filing that the former New York City mayor could not make the trip to Atlanta because of a recent heart stent operation. He shared a note from Giuliani’s doctor stating that he could not fly… “We just want a reasonable accommodation so a 78-year-old who has health conditions can get here, satisfy the directives from a New York court and this court,” Thomas told McBurney.
McBurney told Giuliani’s team that there is no reason he can’t be driven or take public transportation to reach Atlanta.
“New York is not close to Atlanta, but it’s not traveling to Fairbanks,” McBurney said. “He’ll need to be here in person. That gives him a week and a day to sort out whether he would travel by private coach or bus or whatever. I’m confident he can figure out a way short of Greyhound that will get him to Atlanta that is not an airplane.”
Meanwhile, just two days before his ordered testimony, Fulton County prosecutors reportedly informed Giuliani’s lawyers that his status has changed from “material witness” to “target” of the investigation. The shift represents that prosecutors believe they have enough evidence to indict Giuliani.
Scott Perry
Less than a day after the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago, federal agents seized the cellphone of Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) under a different court-authorized search warrant pursuant to an investigation into attempts to overturn the 2020 election results.
“This morning, while traveling with my family, 3 FBI agents visited me and seized my cell phone,” the Pennsylvania Republican said in a statement issued through his office. “They made no attempt to contact my lawyer, who would have made arrangements for them to have my phone if that was their wish.”
According to both the Senate and House inquiries into the January 6th insurrection, Perry aggressively lobbied to replace acting attorney general Jeffrey Rosen, who was resisting Trump’s fake-elector scheme, with environmental lawyer and conspiracist Jeffrey Clark. He also sent White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows unfounded theories of voter fraud, attended a meeting with other Republicans to discuss keeping Trump in power, and later asked for a pardon for his involvement.
The same day, federal investigators delivered subpoenas to numerous Pennsylvania Republican lawmakers, seeking information regarding Rep. Perry and his involvement in the alternate electors plot.