WASHINGTON — Rudy Giuliani, the disgraced former New York City mayor who tried to overturn former President Donald Trump’s election loss, was disbarred in New York state on Tuesday, marking yet another blow for the team that spread lies about massive voter fraud after Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential victory.
The order handed down on Tuesday said Giuliani, who has been charged in Georgia and Arizona as a co-conspirator in the federal election interference case brought against Trump by Special Counsel Jack Smith, had no “good faith basis” to believe the lies he spread about the election. Among the false statements cited by the New York appeals court were comments made by Giuliani at a post-election news conference at the Four Seasons Total Landscaping, which took place around the same time several emerging media outlets reported Biden’s victory.
“These false statements were made to improperly bolster defendants’ claims that widespread voter fraud robbed our client of victory in the 2020 United States presidential election,” the New York appeals court’s ruling read.
Giuliani faces arguably greater repercussions than Trump himself for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. He also faces the risk of being disbarred in Washington, and the Washington, D.C. Bar Association’s Committee on Professional Ethics recently recommended that he be disbarred.
In May, Giuliani was suspended and his show canceled by WABC radio after continuing to make false statements about the 2020 election, exposing the network to potential legal liability.
Georgia election officials Ruby Freeman and Shay Moss were awarded $148 million by a jury after a federal court found Giuliani liable for making false accusations of election fraud that had no factual basis. After security camera footage inspired online conspiracy theorists, Giuliani falsely accused the mother-daughter duo of passing around a USB drive “like a vial of heroin or cocaine,” when in fact they were passing around ginger mints. The accusation sparked a wave of racist attacks and threats against the pair.
During the New York disciplinary process, Giuliani acknowledged that thousands of votes were not actually cast in the names of deceased people in Philadelphia in the 2020 election, as he previously falsely claimed. According to the disciplinary order, the judge overseeing the trial found that “16 false acts” committed by Giuliani “constituted a clear pattern of conduct that was deliberate, planned and with the intent to deceive.”
The ruling also accused Giuliani of trying to mislead staff during disciplinary proceedings.
“Mr. Giuliani is clearly disappointed with the verdict,” Giuliani’s lawyers said in a statement. “We are considering a possible appeal.”
