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Rudy Giuliani was indicted over Arizona election interference plot. But prosecutors say they can’t find him

Former New York mayor and Trump lawyer is only one out of 18 defendants not yet served

Gustaf Kilander
Washington DC
Thursday 16 May 2024 09:06 EDT
Related video: Rudy Giuliani’s Lawyers Say No Accountant Will Work for Him

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Rudy Giuliani has been indicted for his alleged part in a 2020 election interference plot in Arizona – but prosecutors say he’s nowhere to be found.

Last month, the former New York City mayor and Donald Trump lawyer was one of 18 Trump allies and fake electors to be indicted in a sprawling case to plant fake electors to cast electoral college votes for the former president instead of President Joe Biden.

Since then, state prosecutors have spent weeks trying to serve Mr Giuliani with a summons, Richie Taylor at the Arizona attorney general’s office told CNN.

But he has proved elusive and is now the only one of the 18 who has yet to be served with a summons,

One day after a grand jury handed down the indictment, two agents with the office of Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, went to New York to hand the notice to Mr Giuliani, thinking he was probably at his apartment from which he had recently been live-streaming, CNN reported.

They cross-referenced the live-stream with an old real estate listing of his apartment.

But they were not given access to the building, with front desk staff saying they could not accept the documents. The staff member didn’t deny that Mr Giuliani lives in the building.

The formal notice states that Mr Giuliani has been charged in the case and has a court appearance set for 21 May.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani departs the US District Courthouse after he was ordered to pay $148m in his defamation case in Washington on December 15 2023
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani departs the US District Courthouse after he was ordered to pay $148m in his defamation case in Washington on December 15 2023 (REUTERS)

Mr Trump is not among those charged in the case, though the details of the indictment suggest that he’s “Unindicted Co-conspirator 1”.

The indictment states: “In Arizona, and the United States, the people elected Joseph Biden as President on November 3, 2020. Unwilling to accept this fact, Defendants and unindicted coconspirators schemed to prevent the lawful transfer of the presidency to keep Unindicted Coconspirator 1 in office against the will of Arizona’s voters.”

Others charged in the case include former Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, adviser Boris Epshteyn, the main election security lawyer for the Republican National Committee (RNC) Christina Bobb, and former campaign staffer Mike Roman.

When reached for comment, a spokesperson for Mr Giuliani told The Independent: “We are LIVE every night, where we regularly announce our specific location,” in reference to the ex-mayor’s live broadcasts on YouTube.

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