Washington — Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was disbarred in Washington on Thursday, months after losing his New York law license for investigating false claims made by then-President Donald Trump about his 2020 presidential election defeat.
The brief verdict from Washington D.C.’s appeals court stated that Giuliani did not answer an order to explain why he should not be disbarred in Washington after visiting New York last summer.
Giuliani’s spokesperson, Ted Goodman, described the result as “an absolute travesty and a total miscarriage of justice.” Rudy has stated that he believed the accusations he made on behalf of the Trump campaign were truthful.
Rudy Giuliani Disbarred In DC After Pushing Trump’s False 2020 Election Claims
“Members of the legal community who want to protect the integrity of our justice system should immediately speak out against this partisan, politically motivated decision,” Goodman said in a memo to colleagues.
It’s the latest blow to the man once dubbed “America’s Mayor.” His support of Trump’s bogus election claims has also resulted in criminal proceedings. He is now facing financial ruin after a jury last year awarded $148 million in penalties to two former Georgia election workers who sued him for defamation over lies he disseminated about them in 2020.
Rudy was one of Trump’s most vociferous supporters in 2020, making baseless accusations about widespread voter fraud in the race that the Republican lost to President Joe Biden.
Rudy already had his legal license suspended in Washington. Last year, a review panel recommended that he be disbarred over allegations in a Pennsylvania lawsuit trying to overturn Trump’s loss there.
Rudy “claimed massive election fraud but had no evidence,” according to the panel.
Wandrea ‘Shaye’ Moss and her mother, Ruby Freeman, asked a court last month to order Giuliani to turn over his New York apartment, any remaining cash, and some of his prized New York Yankees memorabilia, including three World Series rings and a signed shirt by Joe DiMaggio.
Freeman and Moss also claimed the approximately $2 million that Giuliani previously said Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign owed him. They also attempted to seize possession of another Giuliani property, his Palm Beach, Florida condominium, using another judicial mechanism called receivership.
Rudy Giuliani Disbarred In DC After Pushing Trump’s False 2020 Election Claims
Giuliani declared bankruptcy shortly after the defamation verdict in December. However, in July, a judge dismissed his lawsuit, citing failures to comply with court orders, refusal to reveal sources of income, and an apparent unwillingness to employ an accountant to audit his records.
Giuliani has pleaded not guilty to nine felony charges in the Arizona case, which alleges he circulated false claims of election fraud following the 2020 election. He is charged separately in Georgia, alongside Trump and other former president loyalists, with attempting to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state.
SOURCE | AP
