Rudy Giuliani and other Trump co-defendants surrender in Georgia election case

Rudy Giuliani, who served as Donald Trump's personal lawyer, in a police booking mugshot released by Fulton County Sheriff's Office

Rudy Giuliani, who was Donald Trump's personal lawyer, has surrendered at a jail in Atlanta, Georgia on charges of helping Mr Trump try to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state.

Mr Giuliani, who was released on a $150,000 (£118,000) bond, faces 13 charges including racketeering.

The former New York mayor is one of 19 people, including Mr Trump, indicted in the election interference case.

Mr Trump has said he will attend jail to be booked on Thursday afternoon.

While yet to enter a plea, he denies wrongdoing and has said the charges are politically motivated.

Leaving the Fulton County jail, Mr Giuliani told reporters he was "honoured" to be involved in the case.

"This case is a fight for our way of life," he said. "This indictment is a travesty."

Mr Giuliani and Mr Trump face the most charges among all those accused.

Before Mr Giuliani, seven of Mr Trump's other co-defendants had arrived in Atlanta to be processed, including lawyer John Eastman, Georgia bail bondsman Scott Hall, and Sidney Powell - another lawyer who allegedly took a central role in efforts to undermine the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia.

Former Georgia Republican Party Chairman David Shafer, Cathy Latham, Ray Smith III and Kenneth Chesebro have also been booked at the jail.

Prosecutors in Fulton County have set a deadline of noon local time on Friday for each of the defendants to surrender. They will then appear in court to hear the charges against them at a later date.

Those who were booked on Wednesday had mugshots taken and posted to the Fulton County website within hours. Mr Trump is also expected to get his mugshot taken.

(L-R, top): Former Trump Lawyers Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani, and Jenna Ellis had mugshots taken at Fulton County Jail. (L-R, bottom): Fellow co-defendants Kenneth Chesebro, Cathy Latham and Ray Smith

Like Mr Giuliani, the former president faces 13 charges including racketeering and election meddling. Mr Trump is yet to enter a plea, but he denies wrongdoing and has said the charges are politically motivated.

In a post on Wednesday to his social media site, Truth Social, Mr Trump said he would "proudly be arrested" on Thursday afternoon.

"Nobody has ever fought for election integrity like President Donald J. Trump," he wrote.

Mr Trump has already been granted a $200,000 bond and issued with other release conditions, such as being barred from using social media to directly or indirectly threaten alleged co-conspirators or potential witnesses.

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The former president, who Forbes estimates to have a personal wealth of $2.5bn, has drawn criticism for not paying the legal fees of his co-defendants.

One of them, ex-Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that "this has became a bigger principle than just one man. So why isn't MAGA, Inc funding everyone's defence?"

Another former Trump lawyer, Michael Cohen, now a fierce critic of his former boss, told CNN on Tuesday that Mr Trump was not paying Mr Giuliani's fees. The BBC has contacted Mr Giuliani's lawyer for comment.

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Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, another co-defendant, filed court papers asking a judge for an immediate ruling on a bid to move his case from Fulton County to a federal court, or - alternatively - to issue an order shielding him from arrest in Georgia.

The filing came after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis denied a request to delay Mr Meadows' arrest. An email from Ms Willis included in the filing said Mr Meadows "is no different than any other criminal defendant in this jurisdiction".

A similar request was made by former justice department official Jeffrey Clark. Lawyers for both men have argued that their alleged actions should be handled by the federal court system, as they were federal officials at their time of their alleged involvement in the case.

The Georgia case is the latest in a series of criminal indictments filed against Mr Trump.

He faces 78 charges across three other criminal cases, including an investigation into his alleged mishandling of classified documents.