Rudy Giuliani, the former Mayor of New York City, has been stripped of his law license in Washington, DC, following his propagation of unfounded claims about the 2020 presidential election while serving as legal counsel for ex-President Donald Trump.
The decision by the DC Court of Appeals to disbar the 80-year-old former prosecutor and mayor in the nation's capital comes on the heels of a July ruling by a New York appeals court, which prohibited Giuliani from practicing law in his home state.
According to The New York Post, the three-judge panel in DC highlighted that Giuliani failed to respond to an order that provided him an opportunity to argue why he should retain his membership in the DC Bar, following his disbarment in New York. Giuliani's spokesperson, Ted Goodman, expressed outrage at the decision, stating, "This is an absolute travesty and a total miscarriage of justice." Goodman further urged members of the legal community to voice their opposition to what he termed a "partisan, politically motivated decision." He emphasized Giuliani's contributions to society, stating, "The people coming after Mayor Giuliani can't take away the fact that he remains the most effective prosecutor in American history, who did more to improve the lives of others than almost any other American alive today."
In 2021, the DC court had temporarily suspended Giuliani's law license, and a review panel last year recommended his disbarment over allegations made in a Pennsylvania lawsuit aimed at overturning Trump's 2020 election defeat to Joe Biden. The panel accused Giuliani of claiming "massive election fraud but had no evidence," and participating in an "effort to undermine the integrity of the 2020 presidential election" that "helped destabilize our democracy." The judges on the panel contended that Giuliani's misconduct "sadly transcends all his past accomplishments."
Giuliani, once lauded as "America's Mayor" for his leadership following the 9/11 terror attacks, has been embroiled in legal troubles since the 2020 election. He faces criminal indictments in Georgia and Arizona related to his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in those states. Giuliani was indicted on nine felony counts in Arizona and 13 in Georgia, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
Adding to his legal woes, Giuliani filed for bankruptcy last December after being slapped with a $148 million judgement in a defamation case. This case arose from his false accusations against two Georgia poll workers, whom he claimed attempted to defraud Trump of votes. However, Giuliani's bankruptcy case in New York was dismissed in July, with the judge ruling that he had been consistently evasive about his assets.
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