Giuliani Is Told He Is a Target of Trump Election Investigation in Georgia

“Rudolph W. Giuliani, as former President Donald J. Trump’s personal lawyer, spearheaded efforts to keep Mr. Trump in power.

Aug. 15, 2022Updated 1:29 p.m. ET

Rudolph W. Giuliani is set to appear in Atlanta on Wednesday after his lawyers had argued that he should be interviewed by video instead of appearing in person.Justin Lane/EPA, via Shutterstock

ATLANTA — Lawyers for Rudolph W. Giuliani have been told that he is a target of a criminal investigation in Georgia into election interference by Donald J. Trump and his advisers, one of Mr. Giuliani’s lawyers said on Monday.

Mr. Giuliani, who spearheaded efforts to keep Mr. Trump in power as his personal lawyer, emerged in recent weeks as a central figure in the inquiry being conducted by Fani T. Willis, the district attorney of Fulton County, Ga., which encompasses most of Atlanta. Earlier this summer, prosecutors questioned witnesses before a special grand jury about Mr. Giuliani’s appearances before state legislative panels in December 2020, when he spent hours peddling false conspiracy theories about secret suitcases of Democratic ballots and corrupted voting machines.

For Mr. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, the developments are the latest in a widening swath of trouble, though he got some good news recently when it emerged that he was unlikely to face charges in a federal criminal inquiry into his ties to Ukraine during the 2020 presidential campaign.

Mr. Giuliani is scheduled to appear before the special grand jury on Monday at a downtown Atlanta courthouse. His lawyer, Robert Costello, disclosed in an interview that prosecutors told him Monday that Mr. Giuliani was a target.

Mr. Costello said Mr. Giuliani would probably invoke attorney-client privilege if asked questions about his dealings with Mr. Trump. “If these people think he’s going to talk about conversations between him and President Trump, they’re delusional,” Mr. Costello said.

Also on Monday, a Federal District Court judge in Atlanta, Leigh Martin May, rejected efforts by South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham to avoid appearing before the special grand jury. Mr. Graham is set to testify on Aug. 23. The judge found that prosecutors had shown that there is “a special need for Senator Graham’s testimony on issues relating to alleged attempts to influence or disrupt the lawful administration of Georgia’s 2022 elections.”