Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes confirmed that Rudy Giuliani has been indicted in connection with the 2020 election case centered on former President Trump.
“The last defendant was purged moments ago. @RudyGiuliani no one is above the law,” Mayes, a Democrat, wrote on X Friday evening, confirming that Giuliani is the 18th defendant charged in the case fake state voters.
Mayes responded to a since-deleted post by Giuliani that said: “If the authorities can't find me by tomorrow morning: 1. They must dismiss the indictment; 2. They need to admit they can’t count the votes,” FOX 10 Phoenix reported. . The former mayor of New York celebrated his 80th birthday this weekend.
Sharing photos of the 80th birthday partygoers and balloons in another post on Saturday, Giuliani wrote to his 1.7 million followers: “FAKE NEWS ALERT: Contrary to reports from journalists who were not there, our celebration of our 80th Birthday wasn't 'ruined' or interrupted. It was an incredible evening with friends including Steve Bannon and Roger Stone.
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Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks during a press conference outside the federal courthouse in Washington, DC, December 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, file)
Giuliani's political adviser, Ted Goodman, however, confirmed in a statement reported by the Associated Press that Giuliani was served Friday evening after his 80th birthday celebration as he walked to the car.
“We hope to have a full substantiation soon,” Goodman said in a statement Saturday.
Attorney General spokesman Richie Taylor said in an email to The Associated Press on Saturday that Giuliani faces the same charges as the other defendants, including charges of conspiracy, fraud and forgery.
The indictment alleges that Giuliani “pressured” Arizona lawmakers and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to change the outcome of Arizona's election and was responsible for having encouraged Republican voters in Arizona and six other contested states to vote for Trump. Taylor said an unredacted copy of the indictment will be made public Monday. He said Giuliani is expected to appear in court Tuesday unless the court grants him a delay.
Mark Meadows, Trump's former White House chief of staff, is among those charged in the case.
Neither Meadows nor Giuliani were named in the redacted grand jury indictment released earlier because they were not served with it, but they were easily identifiable based on descriptions in the document. The Arizona Attorney General's Office said Wednesday that Meadows had been served and confirmed he was charged with the same counts as the other named defendants, including conspiracy, fraud and forgery.
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani arrives at the funeral of NYPD officer Jonathan Diller on March 30, 2024 in Massapequa, New York. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
With these indictments, Arizona becomes the fourth state where allies of the former president have been accused of using false or unproven claims about election-related voter fraud.
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Among the defendants are 11 Arizona Republicans who submitted a document to Congress stating that Trump won in Arizona in the 2020 presidential election — including a former state GOP chairman, a 2022 U.S. Senate candidate and two sitting state legislators. The other defendants are Mike Roman, who was Trump's chief operations officer on Election Day, and four lawyers accused of masterminding an attempt to use false documents to persuade Congress not to certify Biden's victory: John Eastman, Christina Bobb, Boris Epshteyn and Jenna Ellis.
Trump himself was not charged but was called an unindicted co-conspirator.
Rudy Giuliani attends the funeral of NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller at Saint Rose Catholic Church in Lima on Saturday, March 30, 2024. (Théodore Parisienne for NY Daily News via Getty Images)
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Giuliani faces more legal proceedings, and a bankruptcy judge said last week he was “disturbed” by the status of the case and the failure to meet deadlines to file financial disclosure reports . Giuliani filed for bankruptcy after being ordered to pay $148 million to two former election workers for spreading allegedly false information about their role in the 2020 election.
Giuliani was also indicted last year by a grand jury in Georgia.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.