Rudy Giuliani forced to pose for mugshot after turning himself in at Fulton County Jail
Donald Trump’s former lawyer Rudy Giuliani surrendered at an Atlanta jail on charges he tried to upend the 2020 election results.
World
Don't miss out on the headlines from World. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani was released on a $US150,000 ($A232,000) bond after being arrested on charges he helped Donald Trump try to overturn the 2020 election results in the southern US state of Georgia.
The 79-year-old Giuliani, who served as Trump’s personal lawyer while he was in the White House, was booked at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta on Wednesday local time, according to jail records.
Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is expected to turn himself in at the same jail on Thursday to face charges he sought to upend the 2020 presidential election won by Democrat Joe Biden.
Speaking to reporters after his booking, Giuliani, a former federal prosecutor, said the “indictment is a travesty.”
“It’s an attack on not just me, not just president Trump,” he said.
“This is an attack on the American people.
“Fani Willis (the district attorney of Fulton County, Georgia) will go down in American history for having conducted one of the worst attacks on the American Constitution ever when this case is dismissed,” he added.
Giuliani served as the mayor of New York from 1994 to 2001, guiding the city through the shock of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and has served as a legal adviser to Trump in recent years.
John Eastman, a former campaign attorney for Trump, and Scott Hall, a bail bondsman, were booked on Tuesday local at the Fulton County Jail.
Eastman, a conservative constitutional law scholar, is accused of drawing up a scheme to submit a false slate of Trump electors to Congress from Georgia instead of the legitimate Biden electors.
Hall faces seven criminal charges linked to his alleged role in the Coffee County election equipment breach, including conspiracy to commit election fraud, conspiracy to defraud the state and violation of Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced And Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.
TRUMP THREATENS TO ‘FLEE TO RUSSIA’
Donald Trump sarcastically trolled prosecutors as his first co-defendants surrendered in Georgia.
After Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis set bond at $A310,000, Trump railed in a Truth Social post that she was afraid he was a “flight risk”.
“I’d fly far away, maybe to Russia, Russia, Russia, share a gold domed suite with Vladimir, never to be seen or heard from again,” he said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Would I be able to take my very ‘understated’ aeroplane with the gold TRUMP affixed for all to see. Probably not, I’d be much better off flying commercial — I’m sure nobody would recognise me!”
The former president’s characteristic bravado in the face of his fourth criminal indictment came as the first co-defendants in the election racketing case surrendered to police.
While Trump has indicated he would surrender on Thursday, local time, two co-accused were booked at Fulton County jail on Tuesday.
According to court records, John Eastman, a former campaign attorney, and Scott Hall, a bail bondsman, were the first two to surrender. They are expected to be arraigned in the coming weeks.
Eastman and Hall were indicted alongside Trump and 16 others who prosecutors allege were part of a scheme to overturn the 2020 presidential election win by Democrat Joe Biden.
The other co-defendants, including Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows and former lawyer Rudy Giuliani, were given until noon, local time, on Friday to turn themselves into the authorities in Georgia.
Eastman, whose bond was set at $USD 100,000, is accused of drawing up a scheme to submit a false slate of Trump electors to Congress from Georgia instead of the legitimate Biden electors.
Hall, with a bond set at $10,000, is charged with racketeering and conspiracy to commit election fraud in connection with tampering with voting machines.
TRUMP TO TURN HIMSELF IN
Donald Trump says he will travel to Atlanta, Georgia, to turn himself in to be arrested following his indictment.
The former US president said he would surrender to authorities in Fulton County, Georgia, on Thursday (local time) in a fiery rant on social media.
It comes amid speculation that the former US president could get his first mug shot taken as he faces his fourth indictment on charges stemming from his and allies’ efforts to overturn the state’s 2020 election.
Writing on his platform Truth Social on Monday, Mr Trump said he would be “ARRESTED by a Radical Left District Attorney, Fani Willis,” the Georgia official who brought the indictment against the former US president.
Earlier, Mr Trump’s bond was set at $US200,000 bond ($310,000), with the details revealed in a filing with the Superior Court of Fulton County that was signed by Judge Scott McAfee, District Attorney Fani Willis, and members of Mr Trump’s legal team.
Several co-defendants in the Georgia racketeering case have also agreed to the terms of their bond agreements with the district attorney’s office.
Mr Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing, was charged last week alongside 18 allies who prosecutors allege conspired to subvert the will of voters in a bid to keep the Republican in the White House after he lost to Joe Biden.
Under the agreement, Mr Trump is barred from intimidating co-defendants, witnesses or victims in the case, including on social media.
He is also prohibited from communicating “in any way, directly or indirectly” about the facts of the case with any co-defendant or witness, except through lawyers.
The New York Post reports that Mr Trump will be allowed to post the bond as cash, commercial surety, or through the “Fulton County Jail 10% program,” according to the filing.
The former US president is expected to turn himself in at the Fulton County jail later this week.
It’s the fourth criminal indictment brought against Mr Trump since he left office.
Bond agreements were also reached with at least two of Mr Trump’s co-defendants, lawyer John Eastman and Republican poll watcher Scott Hall, The New York Post reports.
Ms Willis has already set a deadline of noon on Friday for all the defendants to turn themselves in at the Fulton County Jail to be booked.
She has proposed that arraignments for the defendants happen the week of September 5 and that the case go to trial in March.
More Coverage
Originally published as Rudy Giuliani forced to pose for mugshot after turning himself in at Fulton County Jail
Huge sign US election is already over
With about two weeks left until election day, the fight between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris may already be over, experts believe.
‘Lock him up’: Biden goes nuclear on Trump
The retiring President stunned listeners by saying his predecessor Donald Trump should be locked up a fortnight before the election