Rudy Giuliani final defendant served of 18 accused in Arizona fake electors case
19 May 2024, 03:04
Mr Giuliani was served Friday night after his 80th birthday celebration while walking to the car.
Arizona’s attorney general says former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani has been served an indictment in the state’s fake elector case alongside 17 other defendants for his role in an attempt to overturn former president Donald Trump’s election loss to Joe Biden in 2020.
Arizona attorney general Kris Mayes posted the news regarding the Trump-aligned lawyer on her X account late on Friday.
“The final defendant was served moments ago. @RudyGiuliani nobody is above the law,” Ms Mayes wrote.
The attorney general’s spokesman, Richie Taylor, said in an email to The Associated Press on Saturday that Mr Giuliani faces the same charges as the other defendants, including conspiracy, fraud, and forgery.
Mr Giuliani’s political adviser, Ted Goodman, confirmed Mr Giuliani was served on Friday night after his 80th birthday celebration while walking to the car.
“We look forward to full vindication soon,” Mr Goodman said in a statement on Saturday.
The indictment alleges that Mr Giuliani “pressured” Arizona legislators and the Maricopa County board of supervisors to change the outcome of Arizona’s election. He was responsible for encouraging Republican electors in Arizona and six other contested states to vote for Mr Trump.
Mr Taylor said an unredacted copy of the indictment will be released on Monday. He said Mr Giuliani is expected to appear in court on Tuesday unless he is granted a delay by the court.
Mark Meadows, Mr Trump’s former chief of staff, is among others indicted in the case.
Neither Mr Meadows nor Mr Giuliani were named in the redacted grand jury indictment released earlier because they had not been served with it, but they were readily identifiable based on descriptions in the document.
The Arizona attorney general’s office said on Wednesday that Mr Meadows had been served and confirmed that he was charged with the same counts as the other named defendants, including conspiracy, fraud and forgery charges.
With the indictments, Arizona becomes the fourth state where allies of the former president have been charged with using false or unproven claims about voter fraud related to the election.
Mr Giuliani faces other legal proceedings, and a bankruptcy judge this past week said he was “disturbed” about the status of the case and for missed deadlines to file financial disclosure reports.
Mr Giuliani filed for bankruptcy after being ordered to pay 148 million dollars (£116.8 million) to two former election workers for spreading a false conspiracy theory about their role in the 2020 election.
