Rudy Giuliani, a former attorney for Donald Trump, said he will turn himself in to Georgian authorities this Wednesday on charges of trying to change the outcome of the 2020 election in that southern state a day before the former president .
Trump, Giuliani and 17 other co-defendants must appear by Friday.
“I’m a big boy. I can take that I’ve fought far worse fights than this,” Giuliani, a former federal prosecutor, told reporters outside his New York home.
“It’s no coincidence that they all blamed their lawyers,” said Giuliani, who believes “the justice system has become politicized.”
Giuliani downplayed the photo, which is likely to be taken by Fulton County prison authorities, recalling that he was an anti-mafia prosecutor in New York.
“You’re going to take a picture of me. Isn’t it funny? “A photo of the man who probably jailed the worst criminals of the 20th century,” he said. “You will discredit yourself by taking a picture of me.”
Giuliani was mayor of New York from 1994 to 2001 and was in charge when the city was devastated by the September 11 attacks. He was Trump’s legal adviser in recent years.
“I am the same Rudolph Giuliani who crushed the mob that made New York the safest city in America,” he said, adding that the trial will show the allegations are “a complete hoax and a lie.”
“They accused people in this case that I didn’t even know who they were. They are normal people earning a normal living. You will bankrupt them. You will not judge them,” he said.
In addition to Giuliani and Trump, Georgia prosecutors have also indicted former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and other attorneys for the former president.
John Eastman, a former Trump campaign attorney, and Scott Hall were charged Tuesday, while attorneys Kenneth Chesebro and Ray Smith were reportedly surrendered Wednesday.
Trump is expected to do so on Thursday, ahead of the Friday noon (4:00 p.m. GMT) deadline set by the authorities.
Trump, the favorite for the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election, faces four criminal trials.
