Giuliani enters not guilty plea in Arizona election case
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani entered a plea of not guilty on Tuesday to nine felony charges related to his alleged involvement in attempting to overturn Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss in Arizona to Joe Biden.
Giuliani attended the arraignment remotely from a Phoenix courtroom. His trial is scheduled for October.
Former Arizona Republican Party chair Kelli Ward and at least 11 others were also arraigned on Tuesday for charges of conspiracy, forgery, and fraud in a Phoenix courtroom. Ward and nine others pleaded not guilty, with her trial date set for October 17, just weeks before the U.S. election.
During the remote appearance, Giuliani stated that he did not currently have an attorney but will be getting one. He declined the court’s offer to appoint counsel for the arraignment, stating, “No, no, I think I am capable of handling it myself.”
Giuliani mentioned that he had received a summons but did not have a copy of the indictment. However, he claimed to be aware of the charges from reading about them.
Arizona authorities had difficulties serving Giuliani notice of the indictment for several weeks. He was eventually served on Friday night while leaving his 80th birthday celebration in Florida.
In response to the prosecutor’s request for a $10,000 cash bond due to the challenges in serving Giuliani, he cited security concerns and stated, “I have a fair number of threats, including death threats, and I don’t have security anymore…so I have very strict rules about who gets up and who doesn’t.”
The judge required Giuliani to post a $10,000 secured appearance bond and appear in Arizona within the next 30 days for booking.
Arizona authorities recently unveiled felony charges against Republicans who submitted documentation to Congress claiming Trump had won Arizona, despite Biden winning the state by over 10,000 votes.
The indictment alleges that Ward organized fake electors and advocated for their recognition as the state’s true electors to Vice President Mike Pence. Despite legal challenges, Ward did not withdraw her vote as a fake elector.
Attorney John Eastman, who devised a strategy to challenge the election certification, was the first defendant in the case to plead not guilty last week.
While Trump was not charged in the Arizona case, he was referred to as an unindicted co-conspirator.
Arizona is the fourth state where allies of the former president have faced charges related to claims of voter fraud in the election.
The individuals claiming to be Arizona’s Republican electors met in Phoenix on December 14, 2020, to sign a certificate declaring Trump’s victory in the state. The document was later ignored by Congress and the National Archives.
Of the eight lawsuits challenging Biden’s victory in Arizona, one was filed by the fake electors who later signed the certificate. The lawsuit was dismissed for lack of evidence to support their claims.
Those scheduled to be arraigned include various individuals connected to the case, with arraignments set for different dates throughout June.
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