Giuliani on WABC Suspension: 'You Think I'm a Fool?'

Radio station also nixes ex-NY mayor's show after he flouted ban on debunked 2020 election claims
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted May 11, 2024 6:00 AM CDT
Radio Station Suspends Giuliani for On-Air 'Fallacies'
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks during a news conference outside the federal courthouse in Washington on Dec. 15.   (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Rudy Giuliani was suspended Friday from WABC Radio and his daily show canceled over what the station called his repeated violation of a ban on discussing discredited 2020 election claims. Giuliani said the station's ban is overly broad and "a clear violation of free speech." Giuliani issued a statement saying he'd heard of WABC Radio owner John Catsimatidis' decision through "a leak" to the New York Times. Catsimatidis confirmed his decision in a text message to the AP. Giuliani "left me no option," Catsimatidis told the Times, saying that the former New York City mayor had been warned twice not to discuss "fallacies of the November 2020 election." "And I get a text from him last night, and I get a text from him this morning that he refuses not to talk about it," the Republican businessman, who has fundraised for Donald Trump, told the newspaper.

As Trump's personal attorney, Giuliani was a key figure in the former president's attempts to overturn the 2020 election results and remain in office. Giuliani disputed that he'd been informed ahead of time of the ban. "John is now telling reporters that I was informed ahead of time of these restrictions, which is demonstrably untrue," Giuliani said in a statement. Later Friday, in a video stream on social media, Giuliani noted that he has talked repeatedly, for years on his show about claims the election was stolen, maybe even on every program, or every other program. "If there was such a policy, I'd be crazy to keep doing it," Giuliani said. "You think I'm a fool?" A letter obtained by the AP from Catsimatidis to Giuliani and dated Thursday said Giuliani was prohibited from engaging in discussions relating to the 2020 elections.

"These specific topics include, but are not limited to, the legitimacy of the election results, allegations of fraud effectuated by election workers, and your personal lawsuits relating to these allegations," the letter said. Ted Goodman, Giuliani's spokesperson and adviser, said Giuliani hadn't known of the directive before Thursday. "WABC's decision comes at a very suspicious time, just months before the 2024 election, and just as 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 loss in 2020. At the time, Giuliani spokesperson Goodman lambasted what he called "the continued weaponization of our justice system." More here.

(More Rudy Giuliani stories.)

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