Rudy Giuliani spoke out against the Georgia indictment that sees him among 19 defendants accused of orchestrating a "criminal enterprise" to overturn the result of the 2020 election in the state, calling it "an affront to American Democracy."
On Monday, an Atlanta-based grand jury indicted 19 people—including Giuliani, former president Donald Trump, and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows—on state charges linked to their efforts to overturn Trump's defeat in Georgia.
The 41-count indictment accuses the defendants of charges involving felony racketeering, perjury, forgery, violating the oath of a public officer, and other conspiracy charges and offenses. All 19 defendants were charged with violating Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act, or RICO.
Giuliani faces 12 counts, seven of which he shares with Trump, including conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer, conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree, conspiracy to commit false statements and writings, conspiracy to commit filing glaze documents, and others.
A racketeering charge carries a sentence between five to 20 years, while being found guilty of a conspiracy charge can lead to a minimum sentence of one year in prison.
The indictment was handed to the defendants around 9 p.m. on Monday and was made public just before 11 p.m. on the same day. Both Trump and his personal lawyer Giuliani have denied any wrongdoing—with the former president calling the indictment part of a political "witch hunt" against him as he runs for the 2024 election.
Despite the fact that Trump's now facing four indictments—including the Jan. 6 and 2020 election inquiry, the classified documents case, and the Manhattan criminal case— the former president remains ahead of polling for the Republican primary. FiveThirtyEight reports that as of August 15, Trump had 52.7 percent of the vote, while rival Ron DeSantis trailed him with 14.8 percent of the vote.
Giuliani, who has remained loyal to Trump through the years, has embraced his narrative that the indictment is part of an attempt to persecute the former president.
"This indictment is an affront to American Democracy and does permanent, irrevocable harm to our justice system," Giuliani wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday.
"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. They lied about Russian collusion, they lied about 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."
This indictment is an affront to American Democracy and does permanent, irrevocable harm to our justice system.
— Rudy W. Giuliani (@RudyGiuliani) August 15, 2023
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.
They lied about…
Newsweek has contacted Giuliani's lawyer Robert Costello for comment by email on Tuesday.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek Reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on U.S. and European politics, global affairs ... Read more
