Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has pleaded not guilty in a case that accuses him of illegally trying to overturn the election results of the 2020 election in Arizona.
Mr. Giuliani appeared remotely for his arraignment as it was held in a courtroom in Phoenix on Tuesday. He was joined by 10 other codefendants in the case in entering not guilty pleas, according to court reporters.
The others who entered not guilty pleas include former Trump and Republican National Committee attorney Christina Bobb, former Trump aide Michael Roman, former Arizona GOP Chair Kelli Ward, and more. Former President Donald Trump was not charged himself in the case, but it was suggested he was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Arizona Attorney General office’s indictment.
Others who were named in the indictment include former Trump lawyer Boris Epshteyn and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. Last week, attorney and former law professor John Eastman pleaded not guilty to the charges after he was arraigned.
During his remote appearance, Mr. Giuliani stated he did not have an attorney at this time but will. When asked by the court whether he needed counsel appointed for the arraignment, he responded, “No, I think I am capable of handling it myself.”
Mr. Giuliani said he received a summons but did not have a copy of the indictment. He said he is familiar with the charges, though, by reading about them.
On Tuesday, in response to the prosecutors’ request for a $10,000 cash bond after outlining the alleged difficulty in serving him in the case, Mr. Giuliani said: “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 Mr. Giuliani to post a secured appearance bond of $10,000 as well as appear in Arizona within the next 30 days for booking procedures.
For weeks, prosecutors said they had been unable to serve Mr. Giuliani with an indictment before they served him at his 80th birthday event in Florida, according to the Arizona Attorney General’s office in a statement issued over the past weekend.
“The final defendant was served moments ago,” Attorney General Kris Mays wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Nobody is above the law.”
The defendants have been charged with conspiracy, fraud, and forgery for submitting an electoral certificate to Congress that said President Trump won the last election. Prosecutors say that it’s illegal and President Joe Biden won the state.
“In Arizona, and the United States, the people elected Joseph Biden as President on November 3, 2020,” the indictment read. “Unwilling to accept this fact, Defendants and unindicted coconspirators schemed to prevent the lawful transfer of the presidency to keep Unindicted Coconspirator 1 in office against the will of Arizona’s voters. This scheme would have deprived Arizona voters of their right to vote and have their votes counted.”
Mr. Giuliani’s spokesperson Ted Goodman said the former New York City mayor looks forward to being vindicated.
“These charges are essentially a cut and paste version of what they’re attempting to use to interfere with the 2024 Election and to take down President Trump and anyone willing to take on the permanent Washington political class,” Mr. Goodman said in a statement.
Arizona authorities unveiled the felony charges last month against Republicans who submitted a document to Congress that said President Trump had won Arizona. The defendants include five lawyers connected to the former president and two former Trump aides.
Others who were arraigned on Tuesday include Ms. Ward as well as Tyler Bowyer, an executive of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA; state Sen. Anthony Kern; Greg Safsten, a former executive director of the Arizona Republican Party; Robert Montgomery, and former chairman of the Cochise County Republican Committee; Samuel Moorhead.
Republican precinct committee member in Gila County; Nancy Cottle, who in 2020 was the first vice president of the Arizona Federation of Republican Women; Loraine Pellegrino, past president of the Ahwatukee Republican Women; Michael Ward, an osteopathic physician who is married to Ward; and former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis are also slated to be arraigned Tuesday, according to court documents.
After the indictment was unsealed weeks ago, the Arizona Republican Party denounced the attorney general’s office for the charges.
Ms. Mayes, who was elected during the 2022 midterm elections, is using “politically motivated indictments and blatant abuse of legal authority aimed to disrupt, distract, and interfere in the 2024 election,” the GOP’s statement continued.
Aside from Arizona, officials in Nevada, Michigan, and Georgia’s Fulton County have announced felony charges against individuals who submitted similar electoral certificates to Congress in the two states, respectively, after the 2020 election.
Mr. Giuliani’s Arizona trial is scheduled to take place in October.
