NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — Rudy Giuliani was suspended from WABC Radio on Friday 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 ban on the channel is too broad and “a clear violation of freedom of expression.”
Giuliani issued a statement saying he learned 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 Associated Press.
Giuliani “left me no choice,” Catsimatidis told the Times, saying the former New York City mayor had been warned twice not to discuss the “misconceptions 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 to talk about it,” the Republican businessman, who has raised money for Donald Trump, told the newspaper.
As Trump’s personal lawyer, Giuliani was a key figure in the former president’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and remain in office.
Giuliani disputed that he was informed of the ban in advance.
“John is now telling reporters that I had advance notice of these restrictions, which is demonstrably untrue,” Giuliani said in a statement. “How can you possibly believe that when I have been regularly commenting on the 2020 election for three and a half years. … Obviously, I was never informed of such a policy, and even if there was, it was violated so many times that it could not be taken seriously.”
In a letter obtained by the AP from Catsimatidis to Giuliani dated Thursday, Giuliani was prohibited from participating in discussions related to the 2020 election.
“These specific topics include, but are not limited to, the legitimacy of the election results, allegations of fraud by election officials, and your personal lawsuits related to these allegations,” the letter said.
Ted Goodman, Giuliani’s spokesman and adviser, said Giuliani was not aware of the directive before Thursday.
“WABC’s decision comes at a highly suspicious time, just months before the 2024 election, and just as John and WABC continue to face pressure from Dominion Voting Systems and the Biden administration’s lawyers,” Giuliani said in his statement.
Late last month, Giuliani was one of 18 people indicted by an Arizona grand jury for their role in an effort to overturn Trump’s 2020 loss. At the time, his spokesman Goodman denounced what he called “the continued weaponization of our justice system.”
Giuliani filed for bankruptcy in December, shortly after a jury ruled he must pay $148 million to two former Georgia election workers for spreading lies about their role in the 2020 election. Despite the verdict, Giuliani continued to repeat his stolen election claims , insisting he had done nothing wrong and suggesting he would continue to push his claims even if it meant losing all his money or going to jail.
The bankruptcy prompted a diverse coalition of creditors to come forward, including a supermarket worker thrown in jail for patting him on the back, two election technology companies he spread conspiracies about, a woman who says he forced her to have sex, some are former lawyers, the IRS and Hunter Biden, who says Giuliani illegally shared his personal information.
In early April, a bankruptcy judge in New York allowed Giuliani to remain in his Florida apartment but refused to rule on a motion by creditors that would have forced him to sell the Palm Beach estate. But the judge hinted at more ‘draconian’ measures if the former mayor did not respond to requests for information about his spending habits. The next hearing in the case was scheduled for Tuesday.
