By Katabella Roberts
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who is among the 19 individuals including former President Donald Trump to be indicted by a grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, has called the charges against him “an affront to American Democracy.”
Mr. Giuliani was indicted on Aug. 14 along with multiple other allies of President Trump in relation to their efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis unveiled the 13 federal charges against Mr. Giuliani in a 98-page indictment (pdf) alleging he and others “unlawfully conspired and endeavored to conduct and participate in criminal enterprise in Fulton County, Georgia, and elsewhere.”
Speaking to The Epoch Times following the indictment, Mr. Giuliani called the charges against him and others “an affront to American Democracy” that does “permanent, irrevocable harm to our justice system.”
“It’s just the next chapter in a book of lies with the purpose of framing President Donald Trump and anyone willing to take on the ruling regime,” the former New York City mayor said.
“They lied about Russian collusion, they lied about [President] Joe Biden’s foreign bribery scheme, and they lied about Hunter Biden’s laptop hard drive proving 30 years of criminal activity,” he continued. “The real criminals here are the people who have brought this case forward both directly and indirectly.”
Specifically, Mr. Giuliani, President Trump’s former attorney, was charged with a violation of Georgia’s RICO Act (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations), soliciting the violation of oath by a public official, conspiracies to commit false statements and writings, conspiracies to commit forgery in the first degree, conspiracies to commit impersonating a public officer, and conspiracies to commit filing false documents, among other charges.
Indictment Details
The indictment accuses Mr. Giuliani and others of having “constituted criminal organization whose members and associates engaged in various related criminal activities including, but not limited to, false statements and writings, impersonating public officer, forgery, filing false documents, influencing witnesses, computer theft, computer trespass, computer invasion of privacy, conspiracy to defraud the state, acts involving theft, and perjury.”
It cites multiple phone calls made by Mr. Giuliani, including a Nov. 15, 2020 call he made to an unindicted co-conspirator identified as “Individual 2” in which he allegedly made “statements concerning fraud” in the 2020 election, which prosecutors allege was an “overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy.”
It also cites comments made by Mr. Giuliani and others at a press conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters in November 2020 in which they allegedly “made false statements concerning fraud” in the election in Georgia and elsewhere; and comments he made at a Georgia Senate subcommittee meeting in December 2020 in which he claimed that “at least 96,000 mail-in ballots were counted in the 2020 presidential election, despite there being no record of those ballots having been returned to the county elections office.”
The indictment also cites multiple emails and tweets sent by Mr. Giuliani as well as his alleged efforts to unlawfully appoint presidential electors from Georgia in violation of the terms of their oath of office.
‘The Witch Hunt Continues’
In a video statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday Mr. Giuliani said he had read through the charges leveled against him and others and declared, “If they’re crimes, I’ll eat my hat.”
Earlier on Monday prior to the indictment announcement, Mr. Giuliani denied any wrongdoing in the Georgia election probe and told NBC News he believes the latest legal challenge would “result in a massive victory for Donald Trump.”
President Trump was also charged with 13 counts in Monday’s indictment—the fourth indictment against him this year—including a violation of Georgia’s RICO Act, solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer, conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree, and conspiracy to commit filing of false documents.
He has denied all wrongdoing,
Meanwhile, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, President Trump’s personal lawyers John Eastman and Sidney Powell, and his former attorney Jenna Ellis were also indicted on multiple charges—41 criminal counts in all—although all of the defendants were charged with violating Georgia’s RICO Act.
Under the nearly 40-year-old RICO Act, an individual convicted could face a prison term of between 5 and 20 years or a fine of up to $250,000.
In a statement on Truth Social Monday, President Trump called the latest indictment against him a “witch hunt.”
“So, the Witch Hunt continues! 19 people Indicated [sic] tonight, including the former President of the United States, me, by an out of control and very corrupt District Attorney who campaigned and raised money on, ‘I will get Trump,'” he wrote.
“And what about those Indictment Documents put out today, long before the Grand Jury even voted, and then quickly withdrawn? Sounds Rigged to me! Why didn’t they Indict 2.5 years ago? Because they wanted to do it right in the middle of my political campaign. Witch Hunt!” he concluded.
Janice Hisle contributed to this report.
