ATLANTA >> Lawyers for Rudy Giuliani have been told that he is a target of a criminal investigation in Georgia into election interference by Donald Trump and his advisers, one of Giuliani’s lawyers said today.

Giuliani, who spearheaded efforts to keep Trump in power as his personal lawyer, emerged in recent weeks as a central figure in the inquiry being conducted by Fani Willis, district attorney of Fulton County, which encompasses most of Atlanta. This summer, prosecutors questioned witnesses before a special grand jury about Giuliani’s appearances before state legislative panels in December 2020, when he spent hours peddling false conspiracy theories about secret suitcases of Democratic ballots and corrupted voting machines.

For Giuliani, former mayor of New York, the developments are the latest in a widening swath of trouble, although he got some good news recently when it emerged that he was unlikely to face charges in a federal criminal inquiry into his ties to Ukraine during the 2020 presidential campaign.

Giuliani is scheduled to appear before the special grand jury today at a downtown Atlanta courthouse. His lawyer, Robert Costello, disclosed in an interview that prosecutors told him today that Giuliani was a target.

Costello said Giuliani would probably invoke attorney-client privilege if asked questions about his dealings with Trump. “If these people think he’s going to talk about conversations between him and President Trump, they’re delusional,” Costello said.

Also today, a U.S. District Court judge in Atlanta, Leigh Martin May, rejected efforts by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to avoid appearing before the special grand jury. Graham is set to testify Aug. 23. The judge found that prosecutors had shown that there is “a special need for Senator Graham’s testimony on issues relating to alleged attempts to influence or disrupt the lawful administration of Georgia’s 2022 elections.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

© 2022 The New York Times Company