U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani confirmed his novel coronavirus diagnosis Sunday after tweeting he was “feeling good” and “recovering quickly.”
“Thank you to all my friends and followers for all the prayers and kind wishes. I’m getting great care and feeling good,” Giuliani wrote.
“Recovering quickly and keeping up with everything.”
According to CNN and The Associated Press, a person familiar with the matter confirmed that Giuliani was admitted to Georgetown University Hospital on Sunday. AP also reported that he was exhibiting some symptoms, though it is still unclear how severe the symptoms are and when the former New York City mayor tested positive.
The tweet comes hours after Trump publicly announced that Giuliani had contracted the virus on Twitter, with the president’s tweet wishing him well and describing him as “the greatest mayor in the history of NYC.”
Giuliani, 76, now joins the ranks of several members of the Trump team to test positive for COVID-19, including First Lady Melania Trump, Barron Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz, former presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway and the president himself.
The announcement comes on the heels of several legislative hearings between Giuliani and Michigan’s House Oversight Committee, alleging election misconduct. Giuliani has headed Trump’s efforts to overthrow the results of the election, which have taken him to several states where he could have been exposed to the virus.
Giuliani has repeatedly claimed evidence of widespread voter fraud though no such evidence has been filed so far. He made an appearance earlier Sunday on Fox News, where he spoke about his team’s legal challenges on behalf of Trump.
On Thursday, Giuliani attended a hearing in Georgia where he went without a mask for several hours, the Associated Press reported.
One night earlier, Giuliani was in Michigan urging Republican lawmakers to ignore President-Elect Joe Biden’s election certification. According to AP, neither he or Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis wore masks.
Upon hearing of Giuliani’s diagnosis, Georgia state Sen. Jen Jordan expressed outrage on Twitter. Jordan, a Democrat, was among those who attended Thursday’s hearing.
“Little did I know that most credible death threat that I encountered last week was Trump’s own lawyer,” Jordan tweeted. “Giuliani — maskless, in packed hearing room for 7 hours. To say I am livid would be too kind.”
Last month, Giuliani’s son, Andrew Giuliani, tested positive for coronavirus. He is a special assistant to Trump.
In a statement to The Associated Press, the Trump campaign said that Giuliani had tested negative twice before his visits to Arizona and Michigan, and that several Trump team members who were in close contact with him are now in self-isolation.
“The Mayor did not experience any symptoms or test positive for COVID-19 until more than 48 hours after his return,” according to the statement received by AP. “No legislators in any state or members of the press are on the contact tracing list, under current CDC Guidelines.”
— with files from the Associated Press and Global News’ Rachael D’Amore and David Lao
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