WASHINGTON — Rudolph W. Giuliani, who helped lead President Donald J. Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election results as his person...
WASHINGTON — Rudolph W. Giuliani, who helped lead President Donald J. Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election results as his personal attorney, sat down Friday for a lengthy interview with the House committee tasked with investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, according to people familiar with the closed-door interview.
Mr. Giuliani’s interview, which was virtual, lasted more than seven hours, the sources said. The interview was transcribed and he was under oath. He took a break in the middle of it to liven up his one-hour afternoon radio show.
It’s unclear what Mr. Giuliani told the committee, but his centrality in Mr. Trump’s various attempts to overturn the election made him a potentially crucial witness for the panel, knowing the details of interactions with members. of Congress and others involved in the plans. .
Mr. Giuliani, whose interview was reported earlier by CNNhad negotiated with the panel to testify During monthsand he reached an agreement to talk about matters other than his conversations with Mr. Trump or any other matters he said were covered by attorney-client privilege.
Earlier this month, he suddenly removed from a scheduled interview with the committee after the panel refused to let him record the session. He later dropped that objection and agreed to testify after the panel threatened to use its “enforcement options,” an implied referral to the Justice Department for criminal contempt of Congress, the people said.
The committee interviewed more than 1,000 witnesses and recommended criminal contempt of Congress charges against four of Mr. Trump’s closest allies, who refused to cooperate fully.
Mr. Giuliani was one of the last major witnesses the committee had pressed to interview in recent weeks before it began holding public hearings in June. Others include more than half a dozen Republican members of Congress, such as Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the minority leader.
The panel has yet to make a final decision on whether to call Mr. Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence or Virginia Thomas, a right-wing activist who pushed to void the 2020 election and who is the wife of Judge Clarence Thomas. The chair of the panel, Rep. Bennie Thompson, Democrat of Mississippi, recently indicated that the committee may ultimately not convene any of the three.
Mr. Giuliani has been a key figure in Mr. Trump’s attempts to avoid election defeat and has been involved in plans to disrupt the normal functioning of the Electoral College by persuading lawmakers in disputed swing states. draw up alternative electoral rolls showing Mr. Trump as victorious in states actually won by Joseph R. Biden Jr.
Mr. Giuliani was also instrumental in verifying a Department of Homeland Security utilization plan seize voting machines and examine data hosted there for suspected evidence of fraud. At Mr. Trump’s direction, Mr. Giuliani asked a senior Homeland Security official whether the department could legally take control of the machines — a notion the official dismissed. Mr Giuliani later opposed an even more explosive proposal to have the machines seized by the army.
Mr. Giuliani was summoned to appear with other members of a legal team who presented themselves as an “elite strike force” and launched a series of lawsuits on behalf of Mr. Trump in which they promulgated conspiracy theories and made unsubstantiated allegations of election fraud.
The subpoena from the committee sought any documents Mr. Giuliani had detailing the pressure campaign he and other Trump allies launched against state officials, the seizure of voting machines, contacts with members of Congress, any evidence supporting the conspiracy theories he had pushed, and any arrangements. for his fees.
On Jan. 6, addressing a crowd of Trump supporters before a pro-Trump mob attacked the Capitol, Mr. Giuliani called for “trial by combat.” Later, after the building was besieged, he and Mr. Trump called lawmakers in an attempt to delay certification of Mr. Biden’s victory.
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