Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani surrendered at Fulton County Jail in Georgia on Aug. 23 on charges brought over his alleged efforts to dispute the results of the 2020 presidential election in that state. His bond was set at $150,000.
Mr. Giuliani is among 19 co-defendants, including former President Donald Trump, in the case brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
“If it can happen to me, it can happen to you,” he said.
Other attorneys and alternate electors who were named as co-defendants in the indictment against President Trump and 18 other defendants have also surrendered, according to county jail records.
“Nobody has ever fought for election integrity like President Donald J. Trump. For doing so, I will proudly be arrested tomorrow afternoon in Georgia. God bless the United States of America!!!”
“Well, I’m going to Georgia, and I’m feeling very, very good about it because I feel like I’m defending the rights of all Americans, as I did so many times as a United States Attorney,” he said.
“People like to say I’m different—I’m the same Rudy Giuliani that took down the mafia, that made New York City the safest city in America, reduced crime more than any mayor in any city anywhere, and I’m fighting for justice. I have been since the first moment I represented [former President] Donald Trump—innocent man, who has now been proven innocent several times; I don’t know how many times he has to be proven innocent.”
Mr. Giuliani, who was President Trump’s personal attorney and a a former federal prosecutor, criticized the prosecution.
“They have to be proven to be liars, actually enemies of our republic who are destroying rights, sacred rights. They’re destroying my right to counsel, my right to be a lawyer, they’re destroying his right to counsel. It’s not accidental they’ve indicted all us lawyers—never heard of that before in America,” he said.
Mr. Giuliani pointed to the fact that other co-defendants whom he had never met—regular citizens—are now facing high legal fees in what he called a political indictment.
“[They] don’t deserve this,” he said.
Mugshots
Jail officials have insisted that all of the co-defendants, including the former president of the United States, will be treated like any other criminal.“If you’re indicted, then we’re going to treat you as though you’re indicted here locally, and so we’ll consider you to do fingerprints, mugshots, etc.,” Sheriff Patrick Labatt told CNN.
Charles Rambo, a retired sheriff’s office lieutenant, told CNN that once inside “they would be pat down, led to the booking office in the rear. From there, they probably have to have ties and shoe strings and all those types of things taken. Then, from there, the persons would be fingerprinted, given a booking photo.”
President Trump’s legal spokespersons have dismissed the remarks as posturing and described it as a transparent attempt to humiliate a presidential candidate whom they don’t like.
Given that President Trump requires Secret Service protection, it appears unlikely that his booking process will be the same as the typical procedure.
Mr. Shafer, former chair of the Georgia Republican Party, posted a picture of his smiling mugshot on X, formerly known as Twitter, and changed it to his profile picture.
Mr. Eastman gave remarks to the press after his booking in which he said he had no regrets about attaching his name to President Trump’s.
“Each defendant in this indictment, no less than any other American citizen, is entitled to rely on the advice of counsel and the benefit and past legal precedent in challenging what former Vice President Pence described as ’serious allegations of voter irregularities’ and numerous instances of officials setting aside state election law in the 2020 election,” he said.
“The attempt to criminalize our rights to redress with this indictment will have, and is already having, profound impacts for our system of justice. My legal team and I will vigorously contest every count of the indictment in which I have been named—and also every count in which others are named, for my knowledge of the relevant facts, law, and the Constitutional provisions may prove helpful.
“I am confident that when the law is faithfully applied in this proceeding, all my co-defendants, and I, will be fully vindicated.”
19 Defendants
The 98-page indictment brought by Ms. Willis charges 19 defendants with violating the state’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. In total, they’re accused of 161 acts of racketeering, and 41 counts total.The defendants are President Trump; attorney Mr. Giuliani; attorney Mr. Eastman; former Chief of Staff Mr. Meadows, attorney Mr. Chesebro, former Justice Department official Mr. Clark, attorney Ms. Ellis, attorney Mr. Smith, attorney Mr. Cheeley, attorney Sidney Powell, alternate elector Ms. Latham, alternate elector Mr. Shafer, Illinois pastor Stephen Lee, Black Conservative Federation Vice President Harrison Floyd, former publicist for Kanye West Trevian Kutti, bail bondsman Mr. Hall, and former elections official Misty Hampton.
