“That’s when we ask him probably six or seven times” if Giuliani was a target, Costello said. He said the prosecutor’s office had previously declined to answer that question.
The development for Giuliani marks the first time a close Trump adviser has been told he is the target of a criminal investigation into the then-President’s inner circle following the 2020 presidential election. Both a Georgia grand jury and the Justice Department are investigating post-election efforts to help keep Trump in office.
Giuliani’s status was made public Monday along with other developments in the Georgia probe — court-ordered Sen. Lindsey Graham to testify — as well as several other criminal probes involving the former president and his advisers.
These include the investigation into the handling of classified records at Mar-a-Lago after Trump’s presidency and the federal grand jury investigating Jan. 6.
A federal grand jury on Jan. 6 subpoenaed Eric Hersman, a former attorney and senior Trump White House adviser, CNN and other media outlets reported Monday. Giuliani is said by prosecutors to be the target of the probe, first reported by The New York Times. The DA’s office declined to comment to CNN for this story.
Costello said Giuliani would appear Wednesday before a special grand jury, but declined to say whether his client would invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
Giuliani, who served as Trump’s lawyer during the 2020 election, was ordered by an Atlanta district judge to appear in person before the special grand jury this week.
Giuliani was subpoenaed in July, and a New York judge ordered the former mayor to testify before a special grand jury in Georgia after he failed to appear at a hearing in New York about the subpoena. The former New York mayor also tried unsuccessfully to delay his appearance, saying he shouldn’t fly after undergoing heart stent surgery last month.
Giuliani met with Georgia state lawmakers three times in December 2020 after the presidential election — twice in person and once remotely. During the meetings, Giuliani spread conspiracy theories about widespread government irregularities and fraud. Among his many false claims, Giuliani accused two Atlanta election workers of smuggling fake ballots for Joe Biden in suitcases.
Democratic state lawmakers recounted to CNN the grand jury testimony they were asked to give to the attorney general’s investigation covering Giuliani’s conduct. They said they testified about Giuliani’s appearance at a Georgia Senate subcommittee hearing on Dec. 3, 2020, in which Giuliani promoted false allegations of massive voter fraud.
Many state and federal officials have dismissed Giuliani’s claims of fraud in Georgia, a state Biden won by nearly 12,000 votes. Byung “Bjay” Pak, the former top federal attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, was among those who testified before the US House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021 riot that Giuliani’s allegations of election fraud in the county Fulton had been investigated by federal authorities and found to be untrue.
Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis, a Democrat, explained the broad scope of the investigation, saying it includes possible “instigation of election fraud, false statements to state and local government agencies, conspiracy, extortion, perjury and any involvement in violence or threats that related to the administration of elections”.
This story has been updated with additional developments on Monday.
CNN’s Katelyn Polantz and Tierney Sneed contributed to this report.
