Rudy Giuliani surrenders in Georgia to face election interference charges

Rudy Giuliani has surrendered in Atlanta to be booked as part of county prosecutors' investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia.

Giuliani, a prominent purveyor of baseless claims that the election was stolen from former President Donald Trump, faces 13 felony counts as part of the sweeping racketeering indictment unveiled last week.

The former New York City mayor leaned heavily on the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization law to pursue charges when he was a federal prosecutor — and now is a defendant in a RICO case himself.

Giuliani has called the indictment "an affront to American Democracy."

Before leaving for Atlanta Wednesday, Giuliani told reporters, including CBS News: "I'm feeling very, very good about it because I feel I'm defending the rights of all Americans, as I did so many times as a United States attorney."

Among his debunked fraud claims, Giuliani singled out Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, who worked Fulton County's 2020 election. Giuliani has since conceded in a court filing that he made false statements about the pair, who have filed a defamation lawsuit against Giuliani for these accusations.

A number of other defendants have also surrendered to Fulton County authorities. Trump says he will be booked in Atlanta on Thursday.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.