Giuliani must post bail in Arizona election after alleged escape

By Andrew Goudsward

(Reuters) – Donald Trump's former lawyer Rudy Giuliani was ordered to post $10,000 bail in Arizona on Tuesday after allegedly evading authorities' attempts to serve him with court documents accusing the former mayor of New York. York for trying to overturn the 2020 election.

Appearing by telephone during court proceedings, Giuliani criticized what he called a “completely political affair” by pleading not guilty to charges that he conspired to falsely claim Arizona's electoral votes for Trump after the Trump's narrow defeat against Democratic President Joe Biden.

A Maricopa County judge, Shellie Smith, ordered Giuliani to travel to Arizona within 30 days to post bail.

Giuliani is one of 18 defendants in the case brought by Arizona's Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes, and one of 11 who appeared in court for the first time on Tuesday. All have pleaded not guilty.

The other 10 defendants were released without bail, but prosecutors sought a different arrangement for Giuliani, saying they had difficulty contacting him after the charges were filed.

Prosecutors argued that Giuliani was seeking to evade authorities, pointing to a since-deleted post on X in which Giuliani suggested that prosecutors might have to drop the charges if they were unable to locate him.

An agent from the Arizona attorney general's office finally served Giuliani on Friday as he left his 80th birthday party in Florida.

“He has shown no intention of complying with the legal process in Arizona in this matter,” prosecutor Nicholas Klingerman said.

Giuliani, who does not yet have a lawyer in the case, disputed that he has been “hiding from anyone.” He said he limited access to his New York apartment for security reasons.

“I view this indictment as a complete embarrassment to the American justice system, but I have shown no inclination not to comply with it,” Giuliani said, as the judge sought to cut him off.

Giuliani and the other defendants face charges of conspiracy, fraud and forgery for their efforts to assemble a list of Arizona voters committed to supporting Trump, with the aim of undermining the certification of the 2020 election.

Trump, a Republican who will face Biden in November's presidential election, continues to falsely claim his defeat was the result of fraud. Trump faces two upcoming criminal trials for election subversion.

Smith set the trial date for October 17, just weeks before the November 5 election. Trump is not charged in the Arizona case.

Former Trump lawyer Christina Bobb and former Arizona Republican Speaker Kelli Ward also appeared in court Tuesday. John Eastman, who advised Trump on a plan to derail certification of the Jan. 6, 2021, election, pleaded not guilty Friday.

(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward in Washington; Editing by Scott Malone and Leslie Adler)