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Not that this is a big surprise, but Rudy Giuliani pleaded not guilty to nine felony charges relating to his role in the Arizona fake electors scheme in 2020. Ten others, including former Arizona GOP state chair Kelli Ward, have also pleaded not guilty to conspiracy, forgery, and fraud charges.
The indictment alleges that Giuliani spread false claims of election fraud in Arizona in 2020 and presided over a gathering in Phoenix where he accused election officials of not doing their jobs to ensure accuracy of the results. He is also accused of pressuring Arizona officials to change the outcome of the presidential race among other things. Noteworthy is that Giuliani was not represented by an attorney during the arraignment. It is true that Giuliani is a lawyer and understands how the system works, but generally even experienced lawyers get lawyers for every step of the process when they face years in prison. After all, MAGA stands for: "Make Attorneys Get Attorneys." Could it be that he can't afford a lawyer or that he can't find one who is willing to work with him? Or maybe those few lawyers that are willing to represent him want to be paid in advance and he is broke? Prosecutors requested that Giuliani post a $10,000 cash bond but Court Commissioner Shellie Smith agreed to a secured bond of $10,000. She won't be the trial judge, though. That will be a regular judge, not a commissioner.
Other high-profile indictees in the case include Christina Bobb, Jenna Ellis, Michael Roman, Mark Meadows and Boris Epshteyn. Will any of them flip and rat on the others? Time will tell. As you know, in criminal cases, the early bird gets the worm. And worm is better than prison food.
The trials are scheduled for Oct. 17. That is about 2½ weeks before the election. Probably one thing Donald Trump really does not want just as early voting is ramping up is a media circus about the 2020 fake electors scheme in an Arizona courtroom, especially since Arizona is definitely a swing state. It will remind everyone how Trump tried to steal an election. He and Giuliani will move heaven and earth to get the trial postponed, but the judge is under no obligation to move the date. (V)