Congressional subpoena for Giuliani seeks information on his meetings, fees and fraud claims
By Paula Reid, CNN
Congressional investigators are demanding information from former President Donald Trump’s onetime lawyer Rudy Giuliani about contacts with members of Congress and state election officials, his fee arrangements and any evidence to back up bogus and sometimes outlandish claims of voter fraud.
A source who has seen the subpoena from the House select committee investigating the January 6 US Capitol attack provided details of its contents to CNN.
The subpoena also seeks information about Giuliani’s failed attempt to use unfounded conspiracies to justify seizing voting machines and about meetings he participated in at the Willard Hotel in Washington, DC, where several Trump allies set up a “command center” to discuss options for overturning the election results.
A separate subpoena from the committee to attorney Sidney Powell asks a series of questions about her meetings with Trump, according to the source who also has reviewed that request for information. In addition, Powell’s subpoena seeks information about her fee arrangements, the source said.
Giuliani has indicated through his attorney that he doesn’t plan to provide information to the committee because he has claims of executive privilege and attorney-client privilege. Powell said in a statement through her attorney that she will appear before the committee and answer questions.
When asked about Giuliani and others invoking attorney-client privilege as a reason for why they can’t cooperate with the committee, Chairman Bennie Thompson said “that’s their opinion.”
“We think we’re on sound footing,” Thompson, a Democratic congressman from Mississippi, added when asked about a possible legal battle for their testimony.
Giuliani and Powell both have been subject to sanctions and lawsuits over their efforts on Trump’s behalf to file lawsuits claiming election fraud in key battleground states after the 2020 vote.
The congressional subpoenas for Giuliani and Powell seek “any and all documents” related to a raft of unfounded claims, according to the source.
Those bogus claims of widespread election fraud include Dominion voting machines switching votes, algorithms used to manipulate votes, dead people voting in the election, Italian satellites being used to hack voting systems and voting machines manipulated through smart thermostats controlled by the Chinese government.
The subpoenas also seek “any communications with you refuting, rejecting or challenging any claim of election fraud made by you or other representatives of Trump campaign about 2020 election,” the source said.
The-CNN-Wire
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CNN’s Annie Grayer contributed to this report.
