Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was indicted in Fulton County, Georgia, alongside former President Donald Trump and 17 others for their actions in challenging the 2020 election results, and now his entire legal team has withdrawn from his case.
Last week, attorney David Wolfe filed a motion to withdraw as counsel, and on Tuesday attorney Brian Tevis filed a motion to withdraw as well. It is unclear who will take the lead in Mr. Giuliani’s legal team in Georgia.
Fulton County
On Aug. 14, a grand jury handed up a 98-page, 41-count indictment accusing the 19 defendants of violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act as well as other laws.Mr. Giuliani and President Trump were both charged with 13 counts, the most of all defendants, albeit different charges on several counts.
Mr. Giuliani had been involved in helping the then-president investigate potential election fraud in multiple states, and had been in contact with several other lawyers who were indicted as co-defendants.
He was charged with violating RICO, three counts of solicitation of violation of oath by public officer, three counts of false statements and writings, conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer, conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree, conspiracy to commit false statements and writings, two counts of conspiracy to commit filing false documents, and conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree.
Several of the acts of racketeering naming Mr. Giuliani were regarding meetings in Pennsylvania.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and sought to dismiss the case.
Defamation Case
Election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss have sued Mr. Giuliani in Georgia in a separate, civil case.The mother and daughter sued him for defamation over his 2020 accusations of election fraud and ballot manipulation.
The pair were recorded in a video clip that was later widely circulated, showing them putting ballot boxes into suitcases, which they later explained they used to move boxes in every election.
They were investigated by the Georgia Elections Board in the aftermath, and subsequently cleared of any wrongdoing. The board stated that claims against them were “false and unsubstantiated” in a report.
Lawyer Sues Giuliani
Last month, a law firm retained by Mr. Giuliani sued him for $1.4 million claiming he had not paid his legal fees.Robert Costello, a partner at Davidoff Butcher & Citron LLP, had represented Mr. Giuliani during his Congressional investigations, and 10 other civil lawsuits. He was not on the Fulton County legal team.
According to the lawsuit, Mr. Giuliani paid the firm $214,000 since he retained Mr. Costello in November 2019, and had an outstanding balance of $1,360,196.10.
Hunter Biden
On Sept. 26, President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, sued Mr. Giuliani alleging he engaged in computer fraud, including hacking, in obtaining files that belonged to him.The files in question were released after Mr. Biden allegedly abandoned a personal laptop in a Delaware computer repair shop.
But the lawsuit does not specify how Mr. Giuliani obtained the files, instead it alleges that Mr. Giuliani and his attorney Mr. Costello made illegal efforts to gain access to his computer, and “tampered with, manipulated, altered, copied and damaged Plaintiff’s data.”
Mr. Biden has also sued the owner of the computer repair shop, who has countersued alleging defamation.
