Giuliani attended a voluntary interview for the investigation on January 6
Giuliani attended a voluntary interview for the investigation on January 6
Former President Donald J. Trump‘s personal attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani was questioned by federal prosecutors last week as part of their investigation into Mr. Trump’s efforts to rig the 2020 election, according to people familiar with the case.
The proffer agreement-based voluntary interview was a significant development in the special counsel’s investigation into election interference, which is being led by Jack Smith. It is also the most recent proof that Mr. Smith and his team are actively looking for witnesses who could cooperate in the case.
According to those in the know, the meeting with Mr. Giuliani covered some of the most crucial topics related to the special counsel’s investigation into Mr. Trump’s attempts to hold onto power after losing the election to Joseph R. Biden Jr.
The appearance was completely voluntary and handled professionally, according to Ted Goodman, Mr. Giuliani’s political advisor.
Prosecutors and those who are the focus of criminal investigations may come to an arrangement before signing a formal cooperation agreement called a proffer agreement. To avoid prosecution or testifying under oath before a grand jury, the subjects sometimes consent to present their side of the story as well as important information to the government. Prosecutors promise not to use those claims against them in subsequent criminal cases unless it is proven they were lying in exchange.
According to a source familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a pending criminal investigation, Mr. Giuliani was questioned by prosecutors working for Mr. Smith about a scheme to fabricate pro-Trump elector slates in crucial swing states that were actually won by Mr. Biden. They concentrated particularly on the part John Eastman, another attorney who counselled Mr. Trump on how to remain in office after his defeat, played in that attempt.
Sidney Powell, a lawyer who briefly worked on Mr. Trump’s campaign and made erroneous assertions about a group of foreign actors manipulating voting machines to steal the election from Mr. Trump, was another topic Mr. Giuliani brought up, according to the source.
Ms. Powell participated in a meeting in the Oval Office in December 2020 where Mr. Trump was presented with a brazen plan to use the military to seize control of voting machines and rerun the election. Mr. Giuliani opposed the plan, which was sanctioned by a federal judge.
The source claimed that Mr. Giuliani was questioned by the prosecution about the incident at the Willard Hotel a few days prior to the Capitol attack. Before a violent mob stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, disrupting the certification of Mr. Biden’s victory over Mr. Trump, Mr. Giuliani and a group of close Trump advisers, including Mr. Eastman, Mr. Trump’s former chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon, and Mr. Trump’s current adviser Boris Epshteyn, had gathered at the hotel close to the White House to discuss strategies.
Elements of the proffer session with Mr. Giuliani, which took place as the team of Mr. Smith prepared for the former president’s trial on separate charges of endangering national security secrets and obstructing government efforts to recover classified documents, were previously reported by CNN.As they attempt to piece together a more complete picture of the various ways in which Mr. Trump and his allies promoted flimsy claims that the election had been rigged against him and sought to overturn his electoral defeat, the prosecutors have been questioning witnesses in front of a grand jury and holding separate interviews of others.
They sometimes seem to be testing their ability to elicit valuable information without necessarily committing to formal cooperation agreements.
The New York Times stated last week that prosecutors were attempting to come to a proffer agreement with Michael Roman, the former head of Mr. Trump’s 2020 campaign’s election day operations. Additionally, Mr. Roman contributed significantly to the creation of the so-called false elector plan.
