'Contributed to National Strife': Rudy Giuliani Is Disbarred on Manhattan Court's Order

Rudolph Giuliani, the former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and mayor of New York City, has been disbarred.

The decision was handed down Tuesday by the Appellate Division, First Department.

“The seriousness of respondent’s misconduct cannot be overstated,” the panel found. “Respondent flagrantly misused his prominent position as the personal attorney for former President [Donald] Trump and his campaign.”

Giuliani made false and sometimes perjurious statements to state lawmakers, the federal court, the intermediate appellate court, and the Attorney Grievance Committee about the 2020 presidential election, the justices wrote.

“He baselessly attacked and undermined the integrity of this country’s electoral process,” the decision 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 was represented throughout the proceedings by a former judge, Barry Kamins, now with Aidala, Bertuna & Kamins.

“Mr. Giuliani is obviously disappointed in the decision and we are weighing our appellate options,” Kamins said in a statement.

Giuliani’s law license was suspended in New York in June 2021 after the Appellate Division found his recitation of false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump threatened the public interest, democracy and the legal profession.

The panel found that Giuliani “essentially conceded” most of the facts supporting his alleged misconduct during a liability hearing in October and instead argued that he “lacked knowledge that statements he had made were false and that he had a good faith basis to believe the allegations he made to support his claim that the 2020 Presidential election was stolen from his client.”

The liability hearing referee rejected those arguments, the decision said. So did the justices.

“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 said.

Giuliani, the court found, “falsely and dishonestly” claimed in the wake of the 2020 presidential election that votes were cast using the names of dead people, including late boxer Joe Frazier, and that people were illegally transported across state lines to vote.

While Giuliani has a history of significant public service, the referee also noted Giuliani “displayed no remorse for his actions and, indeed, during the Hearing, magnified his lack of contrition.”

Once hailed as “America’s mayor” for his stewardship in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, the 80-year-old Giuliani has faced mounting legal battles and financial ruin in recent years.

Giuliani was indicted in Arizona in May alongside 17 others for his alleged role in an attempt to overturn Trump’s loss in the state during the 2020 presidential election.

Giuliani filed for bankruptcy protection in December following a $148 million defamation judgment leveled against him for false statements in the wake of Trump’s failed attempt to retain the presidency.

He is facing multiple actions in New York State, including a $10 million complaint from an alleged former employee who accuses him of sexual assault and wage theft, though many were stayed in the wake of his Chapter 11 filing.

Giuliani denies the allegations, including one that claims he was selling presidential pardons for $2 million each, and says the woman never worked for him.

He is additionally facing disciplinary proceedings in Washington, D.C., where a bar discipline committee has recommended his disbarment.

Giuliani is also facing criminal charges in an indictment brought by a Georgia district attorney who alleges he was part of a wide-ranging conspiracy to subvert the results of the 2020 presidential election.

“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,” Giuliani spokesperson Ted Goodman said in a statement. “We will be appealing this objectively flawed decision in hopes that the appellate process will restore integrity into our system of justice.”

Read the decision: