Rudy Giuliani’s Radio Show Canceled For Talking About 2020 Presidential Election

‘This directive is a clear violation of free speech,’ Mr. Giuliani said.

Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani said that his radio show on WABC Radio has been canceled because he refused to comply with what he described as the station’s “overly broad” directive that prohibits him from talking about the 2020 presidential election.

Mr. Giuliani took to social media to share a letter from Red Apple Media, dated May 9, notifying him that he’s “prohibited from engaging in conversations relating to the 2020 Presidential election” on his programs broadcast on WABC Radio, which is owned by John Catsimatidis.

“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 those allegations,” reads the letter.

Mr. Giuliani said in a statement that Mr. Catsimatidis and the station fired him for refusing to comply with this directive.

“This directive is a clear violation of free speech,” he wrote, adding that the decision comes at a “very suspicious time,” namely months before the 2024 presidential election and concerns in some circles about election integrity.

Mr. Catsimatidis did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

However, he told The New York Times that he had warned Mr. Giuliani repeatedly not to discuss his claims of 2020 election fraud and other irregularities.

“We warned him once. We warned him twice. 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,” Mr. Catsimatidis told the outlet. He also confirmed his decision in a text message to The Associated Press.

Mr. Giuliani denied being notified ahead of time.

“John is now telling reporters that I was informed ahead of time of these restrictions, which is demonstrably untrue,” Mr. Giuliani said in a statement.

Later on Friday, in a video stream on social media, Mr. Giuliani noted that he has talked repeatedly, over the course of several years, on his show about claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

“If there was such a policy, I’d be crazy to keep doing it,” Mr. Giuliani said. “You think I’m a fool?”

As former President Donald Trump’s erstwhile personal attorney, Mr. Giuliani was a key figure in attempts to challenge the results of the 2020 election, which the former president maintains was “rigged” against him.

Mr. Giuliani has faced considerable backlash for his backing of the former president’s claims, including lawsuits, disbarment proceedings, and criminal charges in Arizona and Georgia.

Bankruptcy and Other Troubles

Last year, Mr. Giuliani filed for bankruptcy protection, a day after being ordered to pay $148 million immediately to two former Georgia election workers who sued him for defamation while he was President Trump’s lawyer.

The payout demanded by the judge stems from a lawsuit in which Mr. Giuliani was accused of defaming the two former election workers with false accusations that they committed voter fraud while counting ballots in Georgia’s Fulton County in the 2020 presidential election.

The two election workers claimed they were subjected to relentless abuse after they were identified in a video clip that became widely circulated after the 2020 general election. In it, they are seen allegedly mishandling ballots.

An investigation by the Georgia Elections Board cleared Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss of any wrongdoing.

Mr. Giuliani’s former lawyers have also sued him over allegations that he failed to pay roughly $1.36 million in legal fees. Mr. Giuliani has said he believes the amount being sought is too much.

Later, the IRS placed a tax lien of nearly half a million dollars on a Florida condo owned by Mr. Giuliani. In court filings, the IRS claims Mr. Giuliani owed $549,435.26 in unpaid income taxes for 2021 on his Palm Beach property. His political adviser Ted Goodman told media outlets that Mr. Giuliani had “a formal agreement with the IRS to pay off the liability.”

Mr. Giuliani also is among the 19 individuals, including President Trump, indicted by a grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, in connection to their efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state.

Also, a grand jury in Arizona indicted Mr. Giuliani—along with 17 others—on charges of conspiracy, fraud, and forgery for submitting a document to Congress claiming that President Trump had won the 2020 election in a so-called “fake electors” scheme.

The “fake electors” scheme involved alternate electors from seven states where President Joe Biden was declared the winner. These electors pledged to support President Trump by casting ballots on Dec. 14, 2020, the date when electors nationwide were required to meet at state capitols to vote.

Although labeled “fake electors,” they viewed themselves as contingent alternate or “dueling” electors. They argued that their decision to submit alternate electoral certificates was to preserve President Trump’s legal claim for the election as legal challenges to the results made their way through the courts.