Month: August 2022

• Rudy Giuliani said a recent procedure prevented him from flying to testify before a grand jury.
• But local prosecutors in Georgia pointed to evidence he’d traveled recently.
• A judge is holding a hearing Tuesday on Giuliani’s request to delay his grand jury testimony.

A week before Rudy Giuliani was set to appear before a grand jury in Georgia, his lawyers contacted local prosecutors to inform them that a recent medical procedure would prevent the former New York City mayor from flying to Atlanta, according to court records.

But his request to delay the Tuesday grand jury appearance was met with little sympathy from the office of Fanni Willis, the Fulton County district attorney investigating former President Donald Trump’s efforts to flip his 2020 election loss in Georgia. Willis’ office responded instead with receipts — and a tweet from New Hampshire — suggesting that Giuliani was, in fact, having no trouble traveling.

In a court filing Monday, local prosecutors in Georgia said they had obtained records showing that Giuliani had “purchased multiple airline tickets with cash, including tickets to Rome, Italy, and Zurich, Switzerland,” for flights between July 22 and July 29. ( Willis’ office stopped short of stating that Giuliani took those flights.)

“All of those dates were after the witness’s medical procedure,” a prosecutor wrote, referring to Giuliani, on the eve of his scheduled grand jury appearance.

“Finally,” the prosecutor added, “in light of the letter provided to the district attorney suggesting that the witness is not cleared for air travel, the district attorney offered to provide alternative methods of travel for the witness, including bus or train fare. ” The filing included a screenshot of an August 1 social media post picturing Giuliani in New Hampshire.

A Fulton County judge responded by setting a 12:30 pm hearing Tuesday on Giuliani’s “emergency” request to delay his grand jury appearance. A lawyer for Giuliani, William H. Thomas Jr., declined to comment.

In a separate court filing Monday, Thomas conceded that Giuliani had traveled from New York to New Hampshire following his unspecified medical procedure. But he emphasized, in italics, that Giuliani made the trip “by a private car in which he was the passenger.”

Pointing to a doctor’s note, Thomas said it was “air travel that he was not cleared for.” But Willis’ office, he wrote, “remained firm in their refusal to agree to a continuance.” Thomas added that Giuliani would appear virtually before the grand jury, but Willis’ office has demanded in-person testimony.

“It is important to note here that Mr. Giuliani is [sic] no way seeking to inappropriately delay, or obstruct these proceedings or avoid giving evidence or testimony that is not subject to some claim of privilege in this matter,” Thomas wrote. “Stated another way, he is and has been willing to cooperate in this matter subject to any ethical obligations that may preclude that cooperation.”

Fani Willis’ aggressive moves

The court files Monday shed light on a dispute between local prosecutors in Georgia and Giuliani’s lawyers in the buildup to his scheduled appearance before the grand jury investigating Trump and his allies’ election interference in the state.

As part of the inquiry, local prosecutors are examining a now-infamous phone call Trump made to Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensberger, urging him to “find” enough votes to reverse his loss to Joe Biden.

Willis has moved aggressively in recent weeks. In addition to winning a court battle forcing Giuliani to testify before a grand jury, her office de ella has pursued fake electors who supported Trump and subpoenaed Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, prompting legal observers to view the Georgia investigation as among the most perilous for the former president.

Following the 2020 election, Giuliani was among the former president’s allies who participated in a scheme to create slates of so-called alternate slates of pro-Trump electors in key battlegrounds states including Georgia. Court filings have revealed that Willis’ office informed all 16 pro-Trump voters in Georgia that they could face charges in connection with the criminal investigation.

In December 2020, Giuliani appeared in person before a pair of committees in Georgia’s state legislature, where he spent hours peddling false conspiracy theories about election fraud. “You cannot possibly certify Georgia in good faith,” he reportedly told lawmakers.

The House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol has also highlighted Giuliani’s efforts in Georgia. In June, one of the committee’s public hearings featured testimony from Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, a former Georgia election official, who was the target of a conspiracy theory Trump and Giuliani spread alleging that she processed fake ballots for Biden.

“It’s turned my life upside down. I no longer give out my business card… I don’t want anyone knowing my name,” Moss said, in emotional testimony before the House January 6 panel. “I don’t go to the grocery store at all. I haven’t been anywhere at all. I’ve gained about 60 pounds. I just don’t do anything anymore.”

A registered nurse was charged Monday with six counts of murder and five counts of gross vehicular manslaughter in connection with a fiery crash in Windsor Hills last week that killed a pregnant woman, a baby and three other adults, the Los Angeles County district attorney announced.

Nicole Lorraine Linton, 37, is accused of reckless disregard for life in connection with Thursday’s multi-vehicle crash. Prosecutors say the Los Angeles woman was behind the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz that was speeding up to 100 mph when she ran a red light shortly after 1:30 pm and plowed into through traffic at the busy intersection of La Brea and Slauson avenues .

Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón said Linton faces up to 90 years in prison if convicted of all charges.

“In an instant, Ms. Linton’s conduct took the lives of six people and injured many others,” Gascón said.

To get a second-degree murder conviction, prosecutors must prove she acted with implied malice and knew the act of driving at a high speed on city streets area was dangerous to human life.

Usually, such cases are brought if the driver is under the influence and has a prior DUI conviction after subsequent DUI education classes. In Linton’s case, investigators have found Linton has a history of dangerous crashes and knew the threat posed by her driving behavior, prosecutors said.

However, he said there is no evidence of any alcohol use by Linton at this point.

“I know that some of you spoke to a woman that alleged they have been drinking together. The CHP is working to identify this person, but we don’t have any further information,” Gascón said.

The DA declined to discuss what prompted the crash, saying it was still under investigation and he was “not going to get into the details.”

Gascon said the murder charges against Linton are for the deaths of 23-year-old Asherey Ryan, her boyfriend, their 1-year-old child, Alonzo Quintero, and their unborn child. Ryan was 8½ months pregnant when she was killed. The boy she was carrying at the time was named Armani Lester, according to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office. His date of birth and date of death fell on the same day.

“A young family was destroyed in the blink of an eye,” Gascón said in announcing the charges against Linton.

Linton was also charged with murder for the deaths of two unidentified women killed in the crash. The five counts of vehicular manslaughter against her are for the deaths of the four adults and the 1-year-old. Ryan’s unborn child cannot be included in those charges.

Times staff writer Nathan Solis contributed to this report.