Rudy Giuliani hands himself in to police over claims he helped Donald Trump try to subvert 2020 US election

23 August 2023, 22:55

Rudy Giuliani has given himself up to police after claims he worked with Donald Trump to try to subvert the 2020 US presidential election.

The former New York City mayor, celebrated as "America's mayor" for his leadership after 9/11, acted on behalf of the Republican ex-President as he battled to get Georgia and other hotly contested states to declare for Mr Trump.

Mr Giuliani, 79, is charged along with Mr Trump and 17 other people under Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act.

His bail has been set at $150,000 (£118,000), second only to Mr Trump's $200,000 (£157,000)

Prison records showed he was booked on Wednesday afternoon.

Mr Giuliani is accused of spearheading Mr Trump's efforts to make local politicians in Georgia and other closely contested states to the Republican president.

Mr Giuliani is charged with making false statements and soliciting false testimony, conspiring to create phony paperwork and asking state lawmakers to violate their oath of office to appoint an alternate slate of pro-Trump electors.

Outside the Fulton County jail on Wednesday, Mr Giuliani laughed when asked if he regretted allying himself with Mr Trump.

"I am very, very honoured to be involved in this case because this case is a fight for our way of life," he told reporters.

"This indictment is a travesty. It's an attack on not just me, not just president Trump, not just the people in this indictment, some of whom I don't even know - this is an attack on the American people."

Other high-profile defendants also surrendered on Wednesday, including Jenna Ellis, a lawyer who prosecutors say was involved in efforts to convince state lawmakers to unlawfully appoint presidential electors, and lawyer Sidney Powell, accused of making false statements about the election in Georgia and helping to organise a breach of voting equipment in rural Coffee County.

Georgia was one of several key states Mr Trump lost by slim margins, prompting the Republican and his allies to proclaim, without evidence, that the election was rigged in favour of his Democratic rival Joe Biden.

Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis has said that, if convicted, Mr Giuliani will be sentenced to prison.

Mr Giuliani has denied wrongdoing, saying he had a right to raise questions about what he believed to be election fraud.

He has called the indictment "an affront to American democracy" and an "out and out assault on the First Amendment".

"I'm feeling very, very good about it because I feel like I am defending the rights of all Americans, as I did so many times as a United States attorney," Mr Giuliani told reporters as he left his apartment in New York on Wednesday.

He said he is "fighting for justice" and has been since he first started representing Mr Trump.

Mr Trump, the early front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, has said he plans to turn himself in at the Fulton County Jail on Thursday.

He and his allies have characterised the investigation as politically motivated.

Mr Giuliani criticised the indictment of lawyers beside himself who had worked for Mr Trump and said the justice system was being politicised.

He also highlighted the fact that some of the people indicted are not household names.

Donald Trump and 18 allies indicted in Georgia accused of 2020 election meddling

"Donald Trump told you this, they weren't just coming for him or me," Mr Giuliani said.

"Now they've indicted people in this case I don't even know who they are. These are just regular people making a normal living."