Rudy Giuliani, an ex-lawyer of former U.S. President Donald Trump, has been interviewed as part of a probe by Special Counsel Jack Smith into interference in the 2020 presidential election, CNN reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources. Smith is investigating accusations that Trump sought to overturn the results of the 2020 election that he lost, including an alleged plot to submit phony slates of electors to block Congress from certifying Democrat Joe Biden’s victory. The Associated Press has the story:
Rudy Giuliani interviewed in Jan. 6 investigation
Newslooks- WASHINGTON (AP)
Rudy Giuliani, who as a member of Donald Trump’s legal team sought to overturn 2020 presidential election results in battleground states, was interviewed recently by investigators with the Justice Department special counsel’s office.
A spokesman for Giuliani confirmed he met with the special counsel. “The appearance was entirely voluntary and conducted in a professional manner,” Ted Goodman said in a statement.
A person familiar with the matter said the interview was not done before a grand jury. The person, who insisted on anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, would not say what questions investigators asked.
The interview is an additional sign of busy investigative activity by special counsel Jack Smith as his team of prosecutors scrutinizes efforts by Trump and his allies to undo the results of the election in the weeks before the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.
Smith filed a separate case earlier this month charging Trump with illegally retaining classified documents at his Florida home, Mar-a-Lago.
As a lawyer for Trump, Giuliani pushed bogus legal challenges to the presidential election results. The legal team filed lawsuits in battleground states raising unsupported claims of vast election fraud even though officials, including Trump’s own attorney general, William Barr, said no such pervasive problems existed.
Giuliani’s efforts have made him a key figure in investigations. He was interviewed last year by a House committee that investigated the run-up to the Jan. 6 attack and by prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, who have been investigating efforts to subvert that state’s election.
Justice Department prosecutors have for months now been examining what role Trump legal advisers played in working to undo the election. Last July, John Eastman, a conservative lawyer who aided Trump’s efforts to challenge the election results, reported that federal agents had seized his phone.
A spokesman for the special counsel’s office did not immediately return an email seeking comment.
CNN first reported the interview with Giuliani.
