Ex-NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani pleads not guilty in Arizona election case

Rudy Giuliani pleaded not guilty on Tuesday in a 2020 election interference case in Arizona.

The former mayor faces nine felony charges in the case, which concerns his role supporting former President Donald Trump’s efforts to reverse election results in Arizona after losing to President Biden in 2020. Arizona was one of a handful of swing states that Biden won on his way to the White House.

Appearing virtually in Maricopa County Court​ on Tuesday, Giuliani said that he did not yet have a lawyer representing him, but that he would obtain counsel. When the court offered to provide an attorney, he declined.

​”I think I’m capable of handling it myself,” said Giuliani, 79.

In Arizona, Giuliani has been charged with one count of conspiracy, two fraudulent scheme counts and six counts of forgery.

A 58-page indictment describes efforts by Giuliani and others to reverse the election results through pressure on elected officials, false election claims and the deployment of fake electors.

The charging documents accuse the defendants of attempting to halt the “lawful transfer of the presidency of the United States” and to deprive “Arizona voters of their right to vote and have their votes counted under the United States Constitution.”
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​Giuliani said in court on Tuesday that he did not have a copy of his indictment. But he said he was familiar with the case through news reports.

He was one of at least 11 defendants in the case who were arraigned Tuesday.

A spokesman for Giuliani, Ted Goodman, claimed in a Tuesday statement that “Joe Biden and his allies continue to weaponize the criminal justice system in their quest to take down President Trump and hold on to power.”

“Mayor Rudy Giuliani — the most effective federal prosecutor in U.S. history — looks forward to full vindication soon,” Goodman added.

The case is hardly the only legal difficulty for Giuliani, the Republican former federal prosecutor who led New York City for two law-and-order focused terms at City Hall before becoming Trump’s legal attack dog.

Last year, Giuliani pleaded not guilty in a Georgia election interference case. In the Georgia case, he was charged with 13 counts including violation of the Georgia RICO Act and several false statement charges.

Giuliani, who has mounting legal fees, also filed for bankruptcy in December.

Trump and Giuliani have insisted that Trump won in 2020. In fact, Biden won the election by 74 electoral votes and more than 7 million votes in the popular vote. Independent reviews found no evidence of widespread voter fraud or election rigging.

In an oddity of the Arizona case, Giuliani apparently taunted the Arizona attorney general’s office as it sought to contact him this month.

“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,” Giuliani wrote Friday on social media, according to a screenshot.

The post has since been deleted. But Arizona’s attorney general, Kris Mayes, a Democrat, posted an image of the former mayor’s message.

Referring to Giuliani, Mayes wrote on social media that “nobody is above the law.”

Giuliani received his summons after a party for his 80th birthday in Palm Beach County, Fla., on Friday, according to his spokesman. Giuliani’s 80th birthday is next week.