Rudy Giuliani disbarred by New York Supreme Court

The former New York mayor has been disbarred after making repeated false and perjurious statements to federal courts as he challenged the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Rudy Giuliani speaks to supporters from The Ellipse near the White House on January 6, 2021. Picture: AFP.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has been disbarred after making repeated false and perjurious statements to federal courts as he challenged the results of the 2020 presidential election, the New York Supreme Court said Tuesday.

The court disbarred Giuliani from practising law in his home state Tuesday, saying the seriousness of Giuliani’s misconduct couldn’t be overstated.

“He baselessly attacked and undermined the integrity of this country’s electoral process,” the court said. “In so doing, 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.” Giuliani is disappointed in the decision, said Barry Kamins, a lawyer for the former mayor. “We are weighing our appellate options,” he said.

Giuliani said on X his disbarment was politically motivated. A New York appellate court previously suspended Giuliani’s law license in 2021. Giuliani’s law license was also suspended in Washington, D.C., in 2021. A division of the District of Columbia Bar recommended his disbarment in July 2023. A final decision by the D.C. Court of Appeals is pending.

The former mayor’s New York disbarment stemmed from his role as personal lawyer for former President Donald Trump, in which he falsely claimed that the 2020 election was stolen and subject to widespread voter fraud, the court found.

The court cited Giuliani’s remarks to Pennsylvania state legislators where he claimed that thousands of votes were cast in Philadelphia during the 2020 election that were made in the names of dead people.

Giuliani also falsely claimed that ballots were smuggled by truck from Bethpage, N.Y., into Pennsylvania, the court said.

It has been a stunning legal downfall for Giuliani, who was the U.S. lawyer for the Southern District of New York from 1983 to 1989 and led the charge to take on the mafia.

Giuliani parlayed his success in taking on the mob and Wall Street into two high-profile terms as New York City’s first Republican mayor in decades. His dramatic efforts in reducing crime were widely copied elsewhere, and his resolute response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks earned him the nickname “America’s mayor.”

He was indicted in August for allegedly operating a criminal enterprise that sought to overturn President Biden’s electoral victory in Georgia. He has denied any wrongdoing in the case.

Giuliani has also been under financial strain after losing civil cases related to the 2020 election. Giuliani recently moved to liquidate his assets in a bankruptcy case after a federal court ordered him to pay nearly $150 million in damages to Georgia election workers, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss. The election workers filed a defamation lawsuit against Giuliani after he accused them of meddling with the 2020 presidential election results.

Voting machine supplier Dominion Voting Systems is listed as a member of the official committee of unsecured creditors in Giuliani’s bankruptcy. Dominion in 2021 filed a defamation lawsuit against Giuliani, saying he spread false accusations saying the company rigged the 2020 election for President Biden.

Dow Jones