Giuliani admits no guilt in Georgia case, calls indictment a ‘travesty’

Rudy Giuliani speaks outside the Fulton County jail, Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, in Atlanta. Giuliani has surrendered to authorities in Georgia to face an indictment alleging he acted as former President Donald Trump’s chief co-conspirator in a plot to subvert the 2020 election. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Rudy Giuliani repudiated accusations he interfered in Georgia’s 2020 election after surrendering Wednesday at the Fulton County jail.

“I am very, very honored to be involved in this case, because this case is a fight for our way of life,” Giuliani said Wednesday afternoon after being booked at the jail. “This indictment is a travesty.”

The longtime ally of former President Trump faces 13 charges in a sweeping case brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) alleging he and 18 co-defendants joined a criminal enterprise that aimed to keep Trump in power after he lost the 2020 election. 

Giuliani’s charges are centered on his efforts to spread false claims of election fraud, particularly to members of the Georgia Legislature, whom he allegedly tried to convince to join in a fake electors scheme to benefit Trump.

All the defendants face state Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act charges — the same charge Giuliani used to prosecute mobsters and Wall Street titans in the 1980s. 

Giuliani admitted in a different case — where two Fulton County election workers are suing him for defamation — that his statements about election fraud were “false” and “carry meaning that is defamatory,” but he maintained that they were “constitutionally protected.” 

The former New York City mayor agreed to a $150,000 bond earlier Wednesday. He was spotted walking into a bail bondsman office that afternoon. 

The terms of Giuliani’s bond dictate that he may not talk about the facts of the case with any co-defendants or witnesses, except through his counsel. That includes the former president.

Trump is expected to surrender Thursday, after agreeing to a $200,000 bond Monday. 

Giuliani is the eighth defendant in the case to turn himself in, after Willis gave all the defendants until noon Friday to surrender at the local jail. He contended Wednesday that the Fulton County district attorney will go down in history for having conducted “one of the worst attacks on the American Constitution ever.”

“This is an attack on the American people,” Giuliani said.

Tags 2020 election claims Donald Trump Fani Willis Fulton county probe Rudy Giuliani

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