Left: Rudy Giuliani and former President Donald Trump (AP Photo/Susan Walsh). Right: Rudy Giuliani mug shot (Fulton County (Ga.) Sheriff’s Office)
The presiding judge in Georgia’s election interference case over the 2020 presidential election has rejected Rudy Giuliani’s request for more time to file pretrial motions.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee on Friday denied the former New York City Mayor’s motion for an “indefinite extension” of the court’s motions deadline, reasoning that his attorneys failed to provide any reason as to why they had been unable to get through the discovery materials provided in the case.
“The Defendant moves for an indefinite extension of the January 8th motions deadline citing
his incomplete review of voluminous discovery,” McAfee wrote in the 1-page order. “Defendant does not articulate exactly what discovery must still be reviewed, or why the review has not been completed in the approximately four months that have passed since arraignment.”
The presiding judge also took aim at Giuliani’s counsel, alleging that they made a false claim about the previously filed motion in their request for an extension.
“While defendant claims to have filed ‘many’ motions concerning discovery, none appear on the docket, McAfee wrote. “Extensions are only considered upon filing of a particularized motion containing a detailed, fact-based explanation of the need for the extension including the amount of time needed. The motion is DENIED. All deadlines remain in place.”
Giuliani’s 14 co-defendants in the case include high-profile names such as former President Donald Trump, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, and “coup memo” author John Eastman. They have all entered pleas of not guilty.
In the indictment, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis accused the defendants of violating the Peach State’s racketeering laws to subvert President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory. Giuliani faces 14 criminal counts, including RICO (Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) violations, forgery, false statements, conspiracy to influence an election, perjury, and influencing witnesses.
Former Trump attorneys Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis, Kenneth Chesebro, and Georgia bail bondsman Scott Graham Hall have all pleaded guilty.
Friday’s order is only a small dose of the legal woes recently incurred by Trump’s former personal attorney. Giuliani last month filed for bankruptcy after he was ordered to pay two election workers in Georgia $148 million for making false and defamatory claims about them in connection with the 2020 election.
He is also being sued by his former attorneys for $1.3 million in fees they say he owes, as well as a former employee, Noelle Dunphy, who is seeking $10 million after filing a lawsuit accusing Giuliani of “sexual assault and harassment, wage theft, and other misconduct.”
Fulton County prosecutors are seeking an Aug. 5 start to the election racketeering trial.
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