WASHINGTON (AP) — Rudy Giuliani, who as a member of Donald Trump’s legal team sought to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in battleground states, was recently questioned by investigators from the Justice Department’s Office of Special Counsel, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The interview was conducted voluntarily and was not done in front of a grand jury, said the person, who insisted on anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. The person would not say what questions the investigators asked.
The interview is a further sign of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s busy investigative activity as his team of prosecutors examines efforts by Trump and his allies to nullify election results in the weeks leading up to the riot. from January 6, 2021 to the Capitol.
Smith filed a separate lawsuit earlier this month, accusing Trump of unlawfully keeping classified documents at his Florida home, Mar-a-Lago.
As Trump’s attorney, Giuliani launched bogus legal challenges to the presidential election results. The legal team has filed lawsuits in battleground states raising unsubstantiated allegations of extensive voter fraud, though officials including Trump’s own attorney general William Barr have said no such widespread issue didn’t exist.
Giuliani’s efforts made him a key figure in the investigations. He was interviewed last year by a House committee that investigated preparations for the Jan. 6 attack and by prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, who investigated efforts to overturn the election. of this state.
Justice Department prosecutors have been examining the role Trump’s legal advisers played in nullifying the election for months. Last July, John Eastman, a conservative lawyer who has supported Trump’s efforts to challenge the election results, reported that federal agents seized his phone.
A spokesperson for the Office of Special Counsel did not immediately return an email seeking comment.
CNN first reported Giuliani’s interview.
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