ATLANTA — 11Alive is publishing online stories about key figures in Fulton County's 2020 election investigation. These people have been asked to testify, are targets of the investigation or could be indicted as part of the probe.
After failing to win the Republican presidential nomination earlier this century, Rudy Giuliani did eventually become a fixture in the Oval Office.
It just wasn't in the big chair.
The former New York City mayor knew Donald Trump long before the man became commander-in-chief, and those ties eventually landed Giuliani in Atlanta as he pleaded with Georgia senators to overturn Joe Biden's victory.
It could all end poorly for the man once called "America's Mayor."
A key figure in the Trump legal sphere, Giuliani is one of several people who could be indicted in Fulton County for criminally interfering in the state's 2020 election.
His path to becoming a Trump ally was a winding one.
Who is Giuliani?
Giuliani first made his name in the 1970s and 80s at the Department of Justice and later as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
An NYU grad who was not called to serve in Vietnam, Giuliani first came to D.C. in 1975 for a brief stint at the DOJ during the Gerald Ford administration.
He'd return to the department from private practice in 1981, where Giuliani served as associate attorney general under Ronald Regan — the department's third-highest post.
Giuliani didn't stay long. He left in 1983 to take the job as the top federal prosecutor in New York's Southern District. He resigned in 1989, spending his six years earning convictions in major mafia cases.
As Giuliani's star rose, Trump was on the come-up too. The men became tabloid icons of 1980s New York, running in the same circles and rubbing the same elbows.
A lengthy 2019 Politico profile on the men suggests their relationship was not particularly close. It was a partnership of convenience, according to former aides and others who knew both Trump and Giuliani. As one held or gained power, the other tried to stay close.
Trump gave money and praise to Giuliani during his two terms as New York's mayor, and that support extended to Giuliani's failed 2008 presidential bid.
When Trump launched his White House bid, Giuliani took his time and was reportedly hesitant to endorse him.
But he eventually became one of Trump's staunchest defenders — a role he continued to hold once the businessman became president.
What did he do in Georgia?
Giuliani became a personal attorney for Trump in 2018. In the aftermath of the 2020 election, Giuliani was a key lawyer for the campaign.
Fulton County prosecutors outlined Giuliani's involvement in potential criminal activity in a July 2022 court filing seeking his testimony in front of a special purpose grand jury.
The Fulton County District Attorney's Office has alleged that Giuliani's efforts in Georgia were part of a "multi-state, coordinated plan by the Trump campaign" to influence the results of the election.
Giuliani, along with others associated with the Trump campaign, appeared at a Georgia State Senate hearing on Dec. 3, 2020. During the nearly seven-hour hearing, Giuliani attempted to persuade lawmakers that fraud in multiple counties handed the state's electoral college votes to Biden.
Among the evidence offered by Giuliani was a video of election operations in Fulton County at State Farm Arena. Giuliani claimed the video showed election workers bringing in "suitcases" of unlawful ballots from unknown sources.
"The videotape doesn’t lie," Giuliani said in a tweet that night. "Fulton County Democrats stole the election. It’s now beyond doubt."
Officials at the Secretary of State's Office debunked the claims almost immediately, but Giuliani didn't stand down.
Giuliani zeroed in on two Fulton County election workers — Ruby Freeman and her daughter Shaye Moss.
Giuliani accused the pair of election fraud in television appearances and on his own podcast. The women were subjected to pressure and death threats as a result of Giuliani's claims.
The Georgia State Election Board dismissed a case tied to alleged election fraud at State Farm Arena earlier this month, clearing Freeman and Moss of wrongdoing. The pair filed a lawsuit against Giuliani in 2021 over the alleged lies, and that lawsuit is ongoing.
Giuliani was also involved in other election-related activities in Georgia that caught the attention of state and federal investigators.
Among those activities was the failed fake elector scheme. Giuliani worked with attorney Kenneth Cheseboro to coordinate the meeting of 16 Georgia Republicans who cast Electoral College ballots falsely claiming Trump won the election, according to Fulton County court filings.
Giuliani has been interviewed by investigators with special counsel Jack Smith's office as part of the broader federal investigation into Trump and the election, CNN reports. It's unclear what questions investigators asked the former New York mayor.
Giuliani was one of 75 witnesses who testified before the Fulton County special purpose grand jury tasked with initially investigating possible election interference.
Giuliani testified before the panel in August 2022. He refused to give details about his appearance, including the type of questions he was asked, the Associated Press reported.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said potential indictments will come between mid-July and the start of September. In letters to county leaders, Willis hinted that charging decision would likely come in early to mid-August.