Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor and personal attorney to former President Donald Trump, has been disbarred in New York. This decision, handed down by the Appellate Division First Department, is a direct consequence of Giuliani’s false and misleading statements regarding the 2020 presidential election. The court found that Giuliani’s actions, in his capacity as Trump’s lawyer, were not only false but also contributed significantly to the national discord following the election.
Giuliani had claimed that he believed the statements he made at the time, but the court was not convinced. The ruling stated, “Contrary to respondent’s allegations, there is nothing on the record before us that would permit the conclusion that respondent lacked knowledge of the falsehood of the numerous statements that he made, and that he had a good faith basis to believe them to be true.” The court emphasized that as a lawyer, Giuliani should have known better.
The decision further highlighted the gravity of Giuliani’s misconduct, stating, “The seriousness of respondent’s misconduct cannot be overstated. Respondent not only deliberately violated some of the most fundamental tenets of the legal profession, but he also actively contributed to the national strife that has followed the 2020 Presidential election, for which he is entirely unrepentant.”
Ted Goodman, a spokesperson for Giuliani, announced that they would appeal the court’s decision. “Members of the legal community who respect the rule of law in this country should immediately come forward and speak out against this politically and ideologically corrupted decision. We will be appealing this objectively flawed decision in hopes that the appellate process will restore integrity into our system of justice,” Goodman said in a statement.
Giuliani, along with several Trump allies and alleged fake electors, pleaded not guilty in May in a Maricopa County, Arizona, court for their alleged efforts to overturn the election results in the state. That same month, Giuliani agreed to cease accusations of election fraud against two former Georgia election workers who won a $148 million judgment after a judge found him guilty of defaming the two women.
The disciplinary charges against Giuliani stemmed from allegations that he made false and misleading statements to courts, lawmakers, and the public, claiming the 2020 election was rife with fraud and that the election was stolen from Trump. Giuliani spread these baseless claims while working as a lawyer for Trump and his reelection campaign. There was no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election, and dozens of legal challenges brought by Trump and his campaign were rejected by courts.
Giuliani was suspended from practicing law in New York in June 2021 based on what the court said was “uncontroverted evidence” that he made false statements that “immediately threatened the public interest.” He faced 20 disciplinary charges from an attorney grievance committee based on the conduct underlying his suspension. In October, a court-appointed referee convened a six-day hearing to examine the charges against Giuliani and determined that 16 had been proven. The appeals court agreed with the referee’s findings and said they are “well-founded and thoroughly explained.” It said the 16 falsehoods perpetuated by Giuliani “were deliberate and constituted a transparent pattern of conduct intended and designed to deceive.”
The court’s decision to disbar Giuliani is the latest blow to the former mayor as a result of the falsehoods he amplified following the 2020 election. A federal judge held him liable last year for defaming two former election workers in Georgia, and a jury ordered Giuliani to pay $148 million to them. He filed for bankruptcy in the wake of the decision. Giuliani is also facing state charges in Fulton County, Georgia, and Arizona as a result of an alleged plot to overturn the results of the elections there. He has pleaded not guilty in both cases.
Giuliani’s disbarment is a significant professional setback for the man once known as “America’s mayor.” The attorney grievance committee for the New York Supreme Court’s Appellate Division, which governs attorney conduct, disbarred Giuliani in an order handed down Tuesday, effective immediately. Giuliani was admitted to New York’s bar in 1969.
Giuliani has faced professional discipline in New York and D.C. in connection with the role he played in trying to subvert the results of the 2020 presidential race. Tuesday’s decision cites one instance, among many, on Nov. 25, 2020, in which Giuliani falsely claimed to Pennsylvania state legislators that thousands of votes were cast in the names of dead people in Philadelphia. In another example, Giuliani falsely claimed to Arizona state legislators that tens of thousands of non-U.S. citizens voted in the 2020 presidential election in the state.
The committee noted that Giuliani argued he made the allegations on a “good faith basis.” In other words, he claims he didn’t know the statements were false. But Giuliani’s defense didn’t sway the committee. “There is nothing on the record before us that would permit the conclusion that [Giuliani] lacked knowledge of the falsehood of the numerous statements that he made, and that he had a good faith basis to believe them to be true,” the decision said.
The committee found that Giuliani communicated “demonstrably false and misleading statements to courts, lawmakers, and the public” in connection with Trump’s reelection bid. Giuliani, who served as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District before later being elected mayor of New York City in 1993, was among the first of Trump’s 2020 attorneys to face professional consequences. Roughly six months after a mob of Trump supporters violently stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, a New York disciplinary committee suspended Giuliani’s license to practice law in the state.
In May, a disciplinary board for the Washington, D.C., bar concluded Giuliani should be disbarred in the nation’s capital for his 2020 efforts. Giuliani testified before the board’s committee that he did the best he could do “under the circumstances.”
Giuliani joins a slew of other former Trump attorneys and allies facing professional or criminal consequences (or both, in Giuliani’s case) related to their efforts to help Trump overturn the election. The former president faces two criminal indictments but has yet to stand trial.
Source: CBS News, BBC News, AP News
