NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — Rudy Giuliani responded Friday to a report that he was suspended from WABC Radio — and had his daily show canceled — for violating a ban on discussing discredited claims about the 2020 election, saying the ban on station is overly broad and “a clear violation of freedom of expression.”
Giuliani released a statement saying he heard about WABC Radio owner John Catsimatidis’ decision through “a leak” to The New York Times.
Giuliani “left me no option,” Catsimatidis told the Times, saying the former New York mayor was warned twice not to discuss “fallacies from the November 2020 election.”
“And I got a text from him last night, and I got a text from him this morning saying he refuses to not talk about it,” the Republican businessman, who has raised funds for Donald Trump, told the newspaper. he was on air when contacted for comment and did not immediately respond to subsequent messages.
As Trump’s personal lawyer, Giuliani was a key figure in the former president’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election results and remain in office.
Giuliani disputed having been informed of the ban in advance.
“John is now telling reporters that I was informed in advance of these restrictions, which is demonstrably false,” Giuliani said in a statement. “How can you believe this when I have been regularly commenting on the 2020 elections for three and a half years. … Obviously I was never informed about such a policy, and even if it existed, it was violated so frequently that it could not be taken seriously.”
A letter obtained by the AP from Catsimatidis to Giuliani and dated Thursday said Giuliani was prohibited from engaging in discussions related to the 2020 election.
“These specific topics include, but are not limited to, the legitimacy of election results, allegations of fraud made by election workers, and your personal lawsuits related to those allegations,” the letter said.
Ted Goodman, a spokesman and adviser to Giuliani, said Giuliani was unaware of the directive before Thursday.
“WABC’s decision comes at a very suspicious time, just months before the 2024 election, and at a time when John and WABC continue to be pressured by Dominion Voting Systems and the Biden regime’s lawyers,” Giuliani said in his statement.
Late last month, Giuliani was one of 18 people indicted by an Arizona grand jury for their roles in an attempt to overturn Trump’s 2020 defeat. At the time, his spokesman Goodman criticized what he called “the continued weaponization of our judicial system.”
Giuliani filed for bankruptcy in December, shortly after a jury verdict requiring him to pay $148 million to two former Georgia election officials for spreading lies about his role in the 2020 election. Despite the verdict, Giuliani continued to repeat his allegations stolen electoral votes, insisting that he did nothing wrong and suggesting that he would continue to press his demands even if it meant losing all his money or being arrested.
The bankruptcy prompted a diverse coalition of creditors to speak out, including a supermarket employee who was arrested for patting him on the back, two election technology companies he spread conspiracies about, a woman who says he coerced her into have sex, several of his former lawyers, the IRS and Hunter Biden, who claims Giuliani illegally shared his personal data.
In early April, a New York bankruptcy judge allowed Giuliani to remain in his Florida condominium, declining to rule on a motion from creditors that would have forced him to sell the Palm Beach property. But the judge suggested more “draconian” measures if the former mayor did not respond to requests for information about his consumption habits. The next hearing in the case was scheduled for Tuesday.
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
