Rudy Giuliani pleads not guilty to Georgia election fraud charges

Rudy Giuliani, Trump's former attorney, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he tried to overturn the outcome of the upcoming election in Georgia. In filing his not guilty plea to the court on Friday, the former mayor of New York also waived his right to appear at an arraignment hearing set for September 6th. He was charged last month with trying to overturn Donald Trump's election defeat to Democrat Joe Biden. Mr. Giuliani faces a total of 13 charges, including the violation of Georgia's anti-racketeering law. He is charged with making false statements about election fraud to officials in several states in a failed bid to convince them to approve an alternative slate of electors in the former congressional certification of the election results. Georgia lawmakers have also accused Trump of making false statements about the election. In a statement, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said she wants to try all 19 defendants together. Some of the charged have filed motions to be tried alone or with a small group of other defendants, while others are trying to move their proceedings to federal court. Some are looking to be tried quickly under a Georgia court rule that would start their trials early in November, while others are already asking the court to extend their deadlines. Due to the complexity, breadth, and volume of the 98-page indictment, Giuliani asked the judge in Friday's filing to give him at least 30 days to file motions. The motion for pre-trial motions is usually filed within 10 days of arraignment. Similarly, Mr Donald Trump waived a formal arraignment and pleaded not guilty on Thursday. The charges against Donald Trump are the fourth indictment since launching his campaign for president in November last year. In a separate case, a Washington judge on Wednesday ruled that Giuliani is liable for defaming two Georgia election workers who were the target of vote-rigging conspiracy accusations following the 2020 presidential election. He faces a civil trial next month in federal court to determine how much he will pay.