- Former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani in a complicated situation in the Arizona Election Case.
Former Donald Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani is expected to post a $10,000 bond in Arizona on Tuesday after allegedly trying to interfere with authorities’ attempts to serve him court papers that accuse the former New York mayor of trying to subvert the 2020 election.
Appearing by phone at a court proceeding, the former mayor criticized what he called a “totally political case” as he pleaded not guilty to charges that he conspired to falsely claim Arizona’s electoral votes for Trump after his narrow loss to Democratic President Joe Biden.
A Maricopa County judge, Shellie Smith, ordered Giuliani to travel to Arizona within 30 days to post the bond. Giuliani is also one of the 18 defendants in the case brought by Arizona’s Democratic Attorney General, Kris Mayes, and one of 11 who appeared for the first time in court on Tuesday.
They all pleaded not guilty. The other 10 defendants were released without bond, but prosecutors still sought a completely different arrangement for Giuliani, stating they struggled to contact him after charges were filed.
Prosecutors also argued that Giuliani tried to evade authorities, pointing to a deleted post on X (ex-Twitter), in which Giuliani suggested prosecutors might have dropped the charges if they couldn’t locate him.
An agent from the Arizona attorney’s general office ultimately served Giuliani on Friday as he was seen leaving his 80th birthday party in Florida. “He’s shown no intent to comply with legal process in Arizona in this case,” according to prosecutor Nicholas Klingerman. Giuliani, who doesn’t yet have a lawyer in this case, argued that he had “been hiding from anyone.” He also stated that he limited access to his New York apartment over security concerns.
He added, “I do consider this indictment a total embarrassment to the American legal system, but I’ve still shown no tendency not to comply.” Giuliani and other defendants are facing charges of conspiracy, fraud, and forgery over their multiple efforts to assemble a slate of electors from Arizona to support Trump, a bid to undermine the certification of the 2020 election.
Trump, as a Republican, will compete against Biden in the November presidential election. He’s still falsely claiming that his defeat was nothing but the result of fraud. He’s also facing two upcoming criminal trials on election subversion charges.
Trump is not charged in the Arizona case.
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