As expected, former San Diegan Christina Bobb pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Phoenix as she joined others at arraignment for their alleged roles in the fake-electors case.
Less expected: Bobb’s booking photo going viral.
As noted by Newsweek, the mugshot of the former lawyer for Donald Trump “made its way across social media … sparking mockery.”
The New Republic reported that Bobb, the former OAN reporter and San Diego State University MBA, “was seen smirking” in the Maricopa County courthouse.
Bobb, head of the Republican National Committee’s election integrity unit, was indicted April 24 by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes for alleged attempts to overturn results of the 2020 presidential election.
Meanwhile, Bobb tweeted alarm after a Trump motion said the FBI was authorized to use “deadly force” in the Aug. 8, 2022, classified documents search at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
“They were prepared to kill me?! A few dozen FBI agents v. me and they were ready to kill me?!!!” she posted on X.
(In a statement, the FBI said it “followed standard protocol in this search as we do for all search warrants, which includes a standard policy statement limiting the use of deadly force. No one ordered additional steps to be taken and there was no departure from the norm in this matter.”
Also Tuesday, former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani was ordered to post a $10,000 bond in Arizona after allegedly eluding authorities’ attempts to serve him court papers accusing the former New York mayor of trying to subvert the 2020 election.
Appearing by phone at a court proceeding, Giuliani criticized what he called a “completely political case” as he pleaded not guilty to charges that he conspired to falsely claim Arizona’s electoral votes for Trump following Trump’s narrow loss to Democratic President Joe Biden.
A Maricopa County judge, Shellie Smith, ordered Giuliani to travel to Arizona within 30 days to post the bond.
Giuliani is one of 18 defendants in the case brought by Mayes, and one of 11 who made their first court appearance on Tuesday. All pleaded not guilty.
Bobb and nine other defendants were released without bond, but prosecutors sought a different arrangement for Giuliani, saying they struggled to contact him after charges were filed.
Prosecutors argued Giuliani was seeking to evade authorities, pointing to a since-deleted post on X in which Giuliani suggested prosecutors might have to drop the charges if they could not locate him.
An agent from the Arizona attorney’s general office finally served Giuliani on Friday as he was leaving his 80th birthday party in Florida.
“He has shown no intent to comply with legal process in Arizona in this case,” prosecutor Nicholas Klingerman said.
Giuliani, who does not yet have a lawyer in the case, disputed that he had “been hiding from anyone.” He said he limited access to his New York apartment over security concerns.
“I do consider this indictment a complete embarrassment to the American legal system, but I’ve shown no tendency not to comply,” Giuliani said, as the judge sought to cut him off.
Giuliani and the other defendants are facing conspiracy, fraud and forgery charges over their efforts to assemble a slate of electors from Arizona pledged to support Trump, a bid to undermine certification of the 2020 election.
Smith set an Oct. 17 trial date, just weeks before the Nov. 5 election. Trump is not charged in the Arizona case.
The New Republic said that, regarding Arizona, Giuliani has deferred to Bobb, saying she knows more about the election efforts in that state than he does.
“I used Christina Bobb to a large extent, and I’m not putting anything off on Christina. If Christina said it happened, it’s probably more accurate than if I said it happened,” Giuliani said in late April on Newsmax.
Reuters contributed to this report.