Rudolph Giulianiwho served as mayor of New York City, federal prosecutor and legal adviser to Donald Trump, was stripped on Tuesday, July 2, of his license to practice law in the state, after a court found that he repeatedly made false statements on the defeat of the former Republican president in the 2020 elections.
A New York appeals court ruled that Giuliani, whose New York law license was suspended in 2021 for making false statements about the election, is no longer allowed to practice law in the state. The ban took effect immediately.
“The seriousness of the situation cannot be overestimated. defendant’s misconduct,” the ruling reads. Giuliani “flagrantly abused” his position and “baselessly attacked and undermined the integrity of his country’s electoral process.”
“In doing so, Respondent not only deliberately violated some of the most fundamental principles of the legal profession, but also actively contributed to the conflicts that followed the 2020 presidential election, for which he does not at all regret,” the court wrote.
Giuliani spokesman Ted Goodman said the man once called “America’s mayor” would appeal the “objectively flawed” decision. He also called on other members of the legal community to speak out against the “politically and ideologically corrupt decision.”
Giuliani’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, was more measured, saying his legal team was “obviously disappointed” but not surprised by the decision. He added that “we will make a valiant effort” to overturn the decision, but “we saw this coming.”
The court, in its decision, said Giuliani “essentially admitted” most of the facts underlying the misconduct allegations at hearings held in October 2023. Instead, according to the ruling, he argued that “I was unaware that the statements I had made were false, and that he had good faith grounds to believe the statements he made to support his claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from his client.”
Among other things, the court found that Giuliani “falsely and dishonestly” claimed during the 2020 presidential election that there were thousands of ballots cast in the names of deceased people in Philadelphia, including one under the name of legendary boxer Joe Frazier. He also falsely claimed that many people were taken from Camden, New Jersey, to illegally vote in Philadelphia, the court said.
The order states that Giuliani must “desist and refrain from practicing law in any manner,” including “giving another an opinion or advice concerning a law or its application” or “promoting himself in any manner as an attorney or legal advisor.”
Before defending Trump in November 2020, Giuliani had not appeared as a lawyer in court since 1992, according to court records.
The ban on practicing law comes amid a growing wave of troubles for the octogenarian Giuliani. In May, the radio station WABC suspended it andccanceled his daily program because he refused to stop making false claims about the 2020 election.
Giuliani also faces the possibility of losing his law license in Washington. In May, a board recommended that his license be revoked, though a court has the final say.
He also filed for bankruptcy last year after being ordered to pay $148 million in damages to two former Georgia election workers for lies he spread about them and upended their lives with racist threats and harassment.
