Rudy Giuliani, a Trump lawyer who championed the former president’s bogus election fraud claims, turned himself in to authorities in Georgia on Wednesday to face racketeering charges alleging he meddled in the state’s 2020 presidential election.
He was booked at the Fulton County Jail, where he had his mug shot taken, in the midafternoon. A judge signed off on a $150,000 bond agreement Giuliani's lawyers worked out with prosecutors.
Giuliani was indignant about the charges as he left the jail, telling a crush of reporters that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis “will go down in American history as having conducted one of the worst attacks on the American Constitution ever when this case is dismissed.”
His arraignment is expected in the next week or two, and it could take place virtually.
Giuliani and Trump both face 13 counts, more than the 17 other defendants in the case. Trump has said he will surrender at the Atlanta jail Thursday.
Giuliani has maintained his innocence, claiming the only thing he’s guilty of was zealously advocating for his client.
"I am being indicted because I'm a lawyer," Giuliani told reporters after he was booked at the Fulton County Jail.
The sheriff's office released a mug shot after his booking.
“I get photographed, isn’t that nice? A mug shot for the mayor who probably put the worst criminal of the 20th century in jail,” Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City, complained to reporters when he left his apartment to travel to Atlanta.
The indictment alleges that Giuliani was a key part of a criminal conspiracy, pressing election officials in Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania to act on voting fraud claims he was repeatedly told were false. Giuliani was also charged with promoting false claims that voting machines were rigged and making false claims in sworn legal filings.
In addition, the indictment singles out false claims Giuliani made about Georgia election worker Ruby Freeman, who was targeted with death threats and harassed as a result of the phony allegations.
Giuliani is being represented by New York-based attorney John Esposito, a former Manhattan assistant district attorney.
The main charge against Giuliani — racketeering — is similar to a federal law he used with great success when he was U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Giuliani predicted Wednesday that he will be vindicated. “This will be proven to be like all the rest, a complete hoax and a lie,” he said.
Giuliani appears to be one of the six alleged co-conspirators in special counsel Jack Smith’s federal criminal case against Trump. At his arraignment in that case, Trump pleaded not guilty. Giuliani, who hasn’t been charged, has denied any wrongdoing.
