Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City and one-time celebrated prosecutor, has been disbarred in New York after being found guilty of making repeated false statements regarding the 2020 election.
The New York Appellate Court issued the decision on Tuesday, marking a significant fall from grace for Giuliani, who was once revered as a formidable U.S. prosecutor and later praised for his leadership in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks.
As the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Giuliani earned a reputation as a tough prosecutor who took on the mob. His prominence grew, culminating in being named Time’s Person of the Year in 2001.
The 31-page ruling partly read;
“Giuliani is disbarred from the practice of law, effective immediately, and until the further order of this Court, and his name stricken from the roll of attorneys and counselors-at-law in the State of New York.
“The disciplinary charges stem from the allegations that respondent communicated demonstrably false and misleading statements to courts, lawmakers, and the public at large in his capacity as lawyer for former President Donald J. Trump and the Trump campaign in connection with Trump’s failed effort at reelection in 2020.
“These false statements were made to improperly bolster respondent’s narrative that due to widespread voter fraud, victory in the 2020 United States presidential election was stolen from his client.”
Giuliani’s New York law license had already been suspended in June 2021 after the division determined that his claims of a stolen election from Donald Trump constituted a serious violation. This latest decision by the New York Appellate Court on Tuesday, July 2, cements his disbarment.
This disbarment marks a dramatic downfall for Giuliani, who was once hailed as a tough prosecutor against organized crime and lauded for his leadership in New York City following the 9/11 terror attacks.
Giuliani has arguably faced much wider repercussions for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election than Trump himself. He also faces disbarment in Washington, where the D.C. Bar’s Board of Professional Responsibility recently recommended that Giuliani be disbarred.
In May, Giuliani was suspended by WABC radio and had his show cancelled for continuing to make false statements about the 2020 election, which could have potentially opened the station up to legal liability.
Two Georgia poll workers, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, were awarded $148 million by a jury after a federal judge found Guiliani liable for falsely accusing them of election fraud, allegations which had zero factual basis. Because of surveillance video that had spurred conspiracy theorists online, Giuliani had falsely accused the mother-daughter duo of passing around USB drives “like vials of heroin or cocaine,” when, in fact, they were passing a ginger mint. The allegations set off a wave of racist attacks and threats against the pair.
