Giuliani Is formally notified of his indictment in Arizona election case
Rudy Giuliani on Friday night was served with a notice of his indictment in the Arizona election interference case, becoming the last of the 18 defendants to receive the notice after nearly a month of unsuccessful attempts by authorities.
The indictment against Giuliani, Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, and others includes conspiracy, fraud and forgery charges related to their attempts to change the results of the 2020 election in the state in favor of Trump, according to prosecutors. Among the other defendants are Mark Meadows, a former White House chief of staff, along with all of the fake electors who acted on Trump’s behalf to keep him in power despite his defeat there.
Richie Taylor, a spokesperson for Kris Mayes, Arizona’s attorney general who brought the indictment, said Giuliani was served Friday around 11 p.m. in Palm Beach County, Florida, as he left his 80th birthday party. “The agents by no means disrupted his event. They waited to serve him outside as he left,” Taylor said.
Giuliani’s spokesperson, Ted Goodman, confirmed in a statement Saturday that Giuliani was served “after the party, after guests had left and as he was walking to the car.”
“He was unfazed and enjoyed an incredible evening with hundreds of people, from all walks of life, who love and respect him for his contributions to society,” Goodman said. “We look forward to full vindication soon.”
Giuliani is expected to appear in court Tuesday unless the court grants a delay, Taylor said. A trial in the Arizona election interference case has been tentatively set to start in mid-October.
Over the past several weeks, Taylor said, authorities had tried multiple times to serve Giuliani in New York City, as well as through a phone call and certified mail.
Taylor said agents with Mayes’ office traveled to Florida on Friday, knowing Giuliani was there because of livestreams from his residence there.
“We would have preferred to serve him three weeks ago when everyone else was served,” he said, adding Giuliani had avoided the attempts and had been taunting the office online.
Several hours before the party began, Giuliani posted on social platform X a now-deleted photo of himself with a group of people, captioned: “If Arizona authorities can’t find me by tomorrow morning: 1. They must dismiss the indictment; 2. They must concede they can’t count votes.”
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