Prosecutors in Georgia could file criminal charges against former Donald Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and other allies of the ex-president for attempting to overturn Joe Biden’s electoral victory in the state.
On multiple times, Giuliani presented wild conspiracy theories and gave phony evidence in an effort to toss out votes against the Republican president, who made specific false claims that were recorded in two separate phone calls to state election officials — and Fulton County prosecutors are considering charges, according to The Daily Beast.
The news outlet cited several former district attorneys from Georgia who said that investigators are looking at a state law making it a felony crime to “knowingly and willingly” give false statements on “any matter within the jurisdiction” of the state government, a charge that carries a prison term of one to five years.
The Fulton County district attorney’s public integrity team is said to be focusing on false claims made by the former New York mayor about “phantom votes” and a misleadingly edited video to state legislators, as well as Trump’s false assertions in phone calls to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and an elections investigator.
“[Giuliani] knows that he’s lying when he says that — there are no secret ballots,” Titus T. Nichols, a former violent crimes prosecutor in Augusta told The Daily Beast. “That’s him presenting false information, and with him being an attorney, it’s even more clear that he’s lying. As a lawyer, you can’t just make up ridiculous theories.”
However, one former district attorney noted that prosecutors would face a challenge to convict because they would almost certainly encounter jurors who believe those election conspiracy theories, and defense attorneys could present conservative state legislators who don’t believe Giuliani’s statements were lies.
“I think it’s clearly going to be an uphill climb,” said Kenneth W. Mauldin, the longtime district attorney for the area covering Athens.
