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The former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani has complained that an indictment handed down against him in connection with Arizona’s fake electors case was not served “stylishly”.
Giuliani was one of 17 defendants who was charged over his role in attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
The Trump ally was served a copy of a document containing the charges against him during a celebration for his 80th birthday in Palm Beach, Florida, a party thrown by a Republican fundraiser, Caroline Wren.
He expressed dissatisfaction with the way the indictment was presented in remarks he made on Sunday alongside his girlfriend, Maria Ryan.
“So one guy, he walked in between a couple of people who didn’t know who he was. And he handed me a folded-up, crumpling piece of paper. It was a crumpling piece of paper. It wasn’t, like, done stylishly,” Giuliani said.
“And he handed it to me, and he said, this is from Arizona attorney general [Kris Mayes]. I still don’t have the indictment,” he added.
Giuliani’s indictment papers came after he mocked Mayes on social media.
In a post on X that has since been deleted, Giuliani bragged about evading Mayes – and the former attorney to Trump claimed that charges against him would be dismissed if officials could not serve him in time.
“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 in the post, which also had a picture featuring smiling friends and party balloons.
The indictment was served hours later. Mayes tweeted on 17 May: “The final defendant was served moments ago. [Rudy Giuliani, ] nobody is above the law.”
Mayes also shared a screenshot of Giuliani’s deleted post.
A Giuliani spokesperson, Ted Goodman, said the ex-New York City mayor was “unfazed” by the indictment-related disruption at his party, according to a statement reported by Politico.
“He was unfazed, and enjoyed an incredible evening with hundreds of people, from all walks of life, who love and respect him for his contributions to society,” Goodman said. “We look forward to full vindication soon.”
In her own remarks to Politico, Wren described the birthday celebration as “a wonderful evening celebrating an American hero”.
“It’s a shame that while the Arizona southern border is wide open and crime is reaching an all-time high, the [Arizona] secretary of state’s office thought it was a good use of resources to send agents across the country to serve an indictment to a man who has spent his entire life dedicated to law and order and was just trying to celebrate his 80th birthday amongst friends & family,” Wren said.
The latest indictment is one of several legal and personal issues facing Giuliani.
Among other matters, Giuliani filed for bankruptcy in December after being ordered to pay $148m in a defamation case for falsely accusing two Georgia poll workers of election subversion in 2020.
