Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani tests positive for COVID

Published 8:09 pm Sunday, December 6, 2020

By Aamer Madhani and Jonathan Lemire

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Sunday his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani has tested positive for the coronavirus, making him the latest in Trump’s inner circle to contract the disease that is now surging across the U.S.

Giuliani was admitted Sunday to Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly.

The 76-year-old former New York mayor has traveled extensively to battleground states in an effort to help Trump subvert his election loss. On numerous occasions he has met with officials for hours at a time without wearing a mask.

Trump, who confirmed Giuliani’s positive test in a Sunday afternoon tweet, wished him a speedy recovery.

“Get better soon Rudy, we will carry on!!!” Trump wrote.

Giuliani did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but on Sunday evening he retweeted Trump’s announcement of his diagnosis. He also tweeted thanks to a conservative writer who had said he was praying for Giuliani.

It was not clear what, if any, symptoms Giuliani was experiencing.

Giuliani attended a hearing at the Georgia Capitol on Thursday where he went without a mask for several hours. Several state senators, all Republicans, also did not wear masks at the hearing.

On Wednesday night, Giuliani was in Lansing, Michigan, to testify in a 4 1/2-hour legislative hearing in which he pushed Republican lawmakers to ignore the certification of Joe Biden’s Michigan victory and appoint electors for Trump. He did not wear a mask, nor did lawyer Jenna Ellis, who was sitting next to him. At one point, he asked one of his witnesses — a Detroit election worker — if she would be comfortable removing her mask. But legislators said they could hear her.

He also appeared maskless at a Nov. 25 hearing in Pennsylvania. Giuliani did not quarantine after being near an infected person at a Nov. 19 news conference at the Republican National Committee’s headquarters. His son Andrew Giuliani, who is a White House aide, announced a day after the event that he had tested positive for the virus.