Rudy Giuliani is denying claims he flipped on Trump

Speculation that Trump’s former lawyer ‘flipped’ against ex-president ‘as false as previous lies’, says his adviser

Long-time Donald Trump ally Rudy Giuliani has denied accusations that he may have flipped on his close friend.

This comes on the heels of the former president’s announcement that he is readying himself for an indictment related to the Jan 6 riots and the revelation of three federal statutes, including conspiracy and obstruction, that could form the basis of fresh charges against him.

“Any speculation that mayor Rudy Giuliani ‘flipped’ against president Donald Trump is as false as previous lies that America’s mayor was somehow a Russian agent,” tweeted Mr Giuliani’s adviser Ted Goodman.

Mr Giuliani was previously New York city’s mayor, Mr Trump’s personal lawyer, and also a former US associate attorney general.

“In order to ‘flip’ on president Trump – as so many in the anti-Trump media are fantasizing over – mayor Giuliani would have had to commit perjury because all the information he has regarding this case points to president Trump’s innocence,” he further said in his tweet.

Mr Giuliani reportedly participated in a voluntary interview with prosecutors as part of what is known as a “queen for a day” deal, under which the ex-mayor can avoid indictment for anything he tells prosecutors about during the interview.

The former Trump lawyer had his law license suspended in New York and Washington as a result of allegedly making multiple false representations while seeking to help Mr Trump overturn the 2020 election.

In a critical turn for Mr Trump, prosecutors could ask a grand jury to return an indictment against him relating to the Jan 6 attack on the US Capitol and his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election as soon as this week, The Independent has learned.

A source familiar with the special counsel’s probe and Department of Justice operating procedures told The Independent that the earliest an indictment could be handed down is late Thursday or Friday, after the deadline prosecutors set for Mr Trump to avail himself of their invitation to testify before the grand jury investigating crimes relating to the Capitol attack.

Reports have said the charges could stem from three federal statutes: Conspiracy to commit offence or to defraud the United States, deprivation of rights under colour of law and tampering with a witness, victim or informant.

The Independent has also learned that Mr Smith’s team is ready to bring charges against several of the attorneys who have worked for Mr Trump, including those who aided the ex-president in his push to ignore the will of voters and remain in the White House despite having lost the 2020 election.

One of those figures is Mr Giuliani.