Former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani surrenders in Georgia election case
Trump is expected to turn himself in at Atlanta court on Thursday
Rudy Giuliani surrendered to authorities in Georgia on Wednesday on charges alleging he acted as former U.S. president Donald Trump's chief co-conspirator in a plot to subvert the 2020 election.
The former New York City mayor, celebrated as "America's mayor" for his leadership after 9/11, is charged with Trump and 17 other people under Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
His bond has been set at $150,000 US, second only to Trump's $200,000 US.
Giuliani, 79, is accused of spearheading Trump's efforts to compel state lawmakers in Georgia and other closely contested states to ignore the will of voters and illegally appoint electoral college electors favourable to Trump.
Georgia was one of several key states Trump lost by slim margins, prompting the Republican and his allies to proclaim, without evidence, that the election was rigged in favour of his Democratic rival Joe Biden.
Giuliani is charged with making false statements and soliciting false testimony, conspiring to create phony paperwork and asking state lawmakers to violate their oath of office to appoint an alternative slate of pro-Trump electors. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has said that, if convicted, Giuliani will be sentenced to prison.
Outside the Fulton County Jail Wednesday afternoon, Giuliani laughed when asked if he regretted allying with Trump.
"I am very, very honoured to be involved in this case because this case is a fight for our way of life," Giuliani told reporters. "This indictment is a travesty. It's an attack on — not just me, not just President Trump, not just the people in this indictment, some of whom I don't even know. This is an attack on the American people."
Trump is expected to turn himself in to officials in Georgia on Thursday. (AFP/Getty Images)
Trump expected to surrender tomorrow
Trump was set to turn himself in on Thursday to face his fourth criminal indictment this year. The remaining 10 co-defendants named in the Georgia indictment have until Friday to surrender. Willis's team has been negotiating bond amounts and conditions with the lawyers for the defendants before they surrender.
Trump has called his four indictments politically motivated.
Attorney Sidney Powell, who played a leading role in promoting Trump's false fraud claims, was also booked at the jail on Wednesday, as was Jenna Ellis, an attorney whom prosecutors say was involved in efforts to convince state lawmakers to unlawfully appoint presidential electors
Attorney Sidney Powell was booked in connection to the same case Wednesday. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Trump campaign attorney Kenneth Chesebro, indicted for allegedly helping to devise a plan to submit fake slates of electors for Trump to obstruct the congressional certification, turned himself in at the Fulton County sheriff's office on Wednesday, jail records showed.
Ray Smith, a lawyer who previously represented Trump in Georgia, also surrendered Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Trump's former lawyer John Eastman and Republican poll watcher Scott Hall surrendered while former Georgia Republican Party leaders Cathy Latham and David Shafer — were booked overnight, according to the jail.
Fight to move case to federal court
Shafer, Trump's former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark have filed petitions to have their cases moved to federal court.
Willis's team urged a judge on Wednesday to reject the requests from Meadows and Clark to avoid having to be booked in jail while they fight to move the case.
Giuliani criticized the indictment of lawyers who had worked for Trump and said the justice system was being politicized. He also highlighted the fact that some of the people indicted are not household names. "Donald Trump told you this: They weren't just coming for him or me," Giuliani said. "Now they've indicted people in this case I don't even know who they are. These are just regular people making a normal living."
Trump has pleaded not guilty to two sets of federal criminal charges brought by Jack Smith, a special counsel named by Biden-appointed U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, concerning the efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss and his possession of classified documents after leaving office. Trump also pleaded not guilty in a Manhattan case involving hush money paid before the 2016 election to a porn star.
Former
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, seen here in October 2020, is
fighting to have the case against him moved to federal court. (Al Drago/Reuters)
With files from Reuters
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