NEW YORK (AP) – New York Mayor Eric Adams suggested on Tuesday that former mayor Rudy Giuliani be investigated for filing a fake police report alleging he was attacked by a hacker who slapped him on the back Sunday at a grocery store. Staten Island goods.
“Someone has to remind former mayor Giuliani that falsely reporting a crime is a crime,” Adams told reporters, saying he had watched a security video that undermined Giuliani’s horrific account.
Giuliani, 78, described being hit so hard that he felt like he had been shot.
The hacker, who police said shouted “What’s up, scumbag?” As he walked away from Giuliani, was arrested and spent more than 24 hours in jail before being charged Monday with charges of a crime, including a third-degree assault.
Adams said he believes Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon “has the wrong man to investigate.”
“When you watch the video, the man actually walked over and patted him on the back,” Adams said. “It was clear he had not been hit in the head. It was clear he didn’t feel like a bullet. It was clear he would not fall to the ground.
Adams and McMahon are Democrats.
Giuliani, a Republican, served as mayor from 1994 to 2001, receiving widespread praise for his leadership since 9/11. Now removed from law practice, he served as a personal lawyer for former President Donald Trump and took the lead in challenging the outcome of Trump’s 2020 election loss.
The supermarket incident on Sunday occurred when Giuliani was campaigning for his son Andrew, who is fighting for the Republican nomination for governor in Tuesday’s primary.
McMahon’s office declined to comment on Adams’ calls for an investigation into Giuliani. A message for comment was left at the New York Police Department, where Adams once served as captain.
Giuliani gave obscene words when asked about Adams’ comments from the New York Post. He called the mayor “dirty.”
The hacker was released on bail Monday. He is due to return to court on August 17. Court records show he is now represented by a private lawyer who did not respond to a statement requesting comment on Tuesday. A group of public defenders representing him in the prosecution condemned the man’s arrest.
Giuliani was standing with a group of people as a man passing by reached over, touched his back with an open palm, and then said something as he walked away.
Giuliani said the man accused him of “killing women”, which he accepted as a reference to the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Rowe and Wade.
In the security video, Giuliani barely reacted when his back was touched, but in a conversation with fellow WABC Republican radio host Curtis Plum, he said he felt “like someone shot me.” Later, at a press conference on Facebook, he said it was “like a stone hit me.”
Add Comment