Rudy Giuliani — former NYC mayor and ex-attorney to Donald Trump — was disbarred on Tuesday in a decision handed down by the Appellate Division First Department in New York. The state court stripped Giuliani of his law license over his efforts to help subvert and overturn the 2020 election.
The New York Appellate Division ruled to disbar Giuliani “effective immediately” saying he made “demonstrably false and misleading statements to courts, lawmakers, and the public at large in his capacity as lawyer” for former President Donald Trump and his 2020 presidential campaign, in connection with Trump’s failed effort at reelection in 2020.
Per ABC News, the 31-page ruling adds: “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 decision by the New York panel noted that “the seriousness of respondent’s misconduct cannot be overstated,” adding that Giuliani”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 was admitted to New York’s bar in 1969 but had his state license to practice law suspended in 2021 over his work to overturn the election, and later suspended in Washington. Giuliani claimed he believed the statements at the time he was making them but the court was not persuaded.
Giuliani’s political advisor Ted Goodman told The Hill that the former mayor intends to appeal the 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.”
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