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By James Bickerton
News Reporter
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Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has rejected Rudy Giuliani's claim that he "accepted service like a gentleman" when he was handed his indictment over the Arizona fake electors case on Friday right after his 80th birthday party in Palm Beach, Florida.
Speaking to CNN's Kaitlan Collins Mayes said her office had "attempted on multiple occasions in multiple ways to serve Mr Giuliani" only to be rebuffed, and instead found out where the former New York mayor was "through his livestreams."
Giuliani was one of 18 indicted in April over claims they took part in a plot to overturn Joe Biden's 2020 presidential election victory in Arizona and falsely name Donald Trump the victor on fraudulent certifications of ascertainment. Trump was referred to as an "unindicted co-conspirator" in the indictment, but has not been charged with any crime. Giuliani has strongly denied any wrongdoing in the case.
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In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Giuliani claimed he had cooperated with the Arizona attorney general's office commenting: "I had just found out they were looking for me 24 hours before a surprise party was given to me by 200 Democrats and Republicans.
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"I told them where I would be and I accepted service like a gentleman! I look forward to the day when the court systems are held accountable for abusing their powers."
However, Mayes gave a very different account on CNN, claiming Giuliani was the last of the 18 defendants to be served and that he was "not accepting service" despite repeated attempts before he was tracked down.
She said: "We had attempted on multiple occasions in multiple ways to serve Mr Giuliani.
"Our agents had traveled to New York City to try and serve him, we were not allowed in his building there where he lives—we stayed there for two days—we mailed him a letter, we made phone calls and ultimately we had to send agents down to Florida, where he went most recently, to serve him."
Mayes claimed her office was finally able to track down Giuliani as he revealed his location while "podcasting," resulting in him being served with the indictment on Friday evening.
Asked about Giuliani's claim he had told her office about his location, Mayes laughed, responding: "I can tell you he did not tell us where he was going to be, except that he told the world where he was through his live cast so, no, he did not tell us where he was going to be and it's really hard to believe he didn't know that we were looking for him, given the number of times and the different ways that we had tried."
Newsweek reached out to Rudy Giuliani for comment via the contact form on his official website outside of usual business hours.
On Friday, attorney John Eastman pleaded not guilty to fraud, forgery and conspiracy charges in the Arizona case, making him the first of the 18 indicted to have issued a plea.
Speaking outside the courthouse he said: "I had zero communications with the electors in Arizona [and] zero involvement in any of the election litigation in Arizona or legislative hearings. And I am confident that with the laws faithfully applied, I will be fully exonerated at the end of this process."
Giuliani, and 11 other people charged in the case, is scheduled to be arraigned on May 21.
Separately, Giuliani is one of 15 people, including Trump himself, who were charged over an alleged plot to overturn the 2020 presidential election result in the state of Georgia. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and denies any wrongdoing.
In December Giuliani filled for bankruptcy after being ordered to pay two Georgia election workers $148 million by a judge who concluded he defamed them with false accusations of voter tempering.
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