(ConservativeSense.com) – Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani entered a not-guilty plea in Arizona as the first hearing on alleged election interference took place in Phoenix. Former Arizona Republican Party chair Kelli Ward and several GOP colleagues were arraigned along with Giuliani on charges of fraud, conspiracy, and forgery. Giuliani appeared via video link without lawyers to enter his plea, saying, “I think I am capable of handling it myself.”
The former Trump attorney noted that he did not have a copy of the indictment even though Arizona authorities successfully served it on him after weeks of failed attempts while he was leaving his 80th birthday party in Florida. The judge ordered Mr. Giuliani to pay a bail fee of $10,000 and appear in person in an Arizona court within 30 days.
Guiliani faces nine felony charges connected to his role in allegedly trying to overturn Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss in the Grand Canyon State. These relate primarily to the so-called “fake electors” scheme in which Republicans signed a document declaring they were “duly elected and qualified” and claiming that Trump had won the state.
The individuals charged alongside Giuliani include Republican National Committee attorney Christina Bobb, 2020 Trump campaign aide Mike Roman, and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. Mr. Trump was not charged but is identified in court documents as “Unindicted Co-conspirator 1.”
Rudy Giuliani was also one of the alleged co-conspirators arrested and mug-shotted along with Donald Trump at a Fulton County, Georgia, jail last August. The first-ever criminal mugshot of a US President made headlines around the world after Trump and co-defendants surrendered to Georgia authorities. Mr. Trump paid a $200,000 bail and was released to await trial.
The former President insists that the charges against him are politically motivated and brought solely by Democrat public prosecutors seeking to interfere with this ability to campaign for the November White House elections. It is “a travesty of justice,” he said.
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