DOJ subpoenas Giuliani over Trump fundraising after 2020 election

Former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani has been subpoenaed in connection with a probe into fundraising efforts following the 2020 election, according to multiple reports.

The subpoena, which was sent in November and first reported by CNN, seeks documents from Giuliani about payments he received during the period when he was filing post-election lawsuits on behalf of the Trump campaign.

The subpoena was signed by an attorney in the D.C. U.S. attorney office and predated the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) appointment of special counsel Jack Smith, though the special counsel’s office has likewise been investigating the inner workings of Save America PAC, former President Trump’s fundraising effort following the campaign.

Other subpoenas sent in recent months have also sought information related to the PAC, suggesting a DOJ interest in following the money flowing in as the Trump campaign falsely claimed widespread voter fraud had stolen the election from the then-president.

Giuliani is already facing fallout as a result of those claims, including a preliminary determination from the D.C. bar association that he violated rules of professional conduct in filing the suits, a matter that could eventually result in the loss of his law license.

Representatives for Giuliani did not immediately respond to request for comment, nor did the special counsel’s office. 

Giuliani was responsible for peddling a number of false claims as he led the campaign’s litigation response following Trump’s loss, including that Dominion voting machines were hacked and that Georgia officials had brought in “suitcases full of ballots.”

The latter became a focus of a hearing convened by the House Jan. 6 panel, which brought in Georgia election workers impacted by Giuliani’s baseless claims, detailing how they received death threats and had to leave their homes for safety.

Giuliani, like Trump, was among those whom the panel recommended the Justice Department evaluate for possible criminal charges.