Rudy Giuliani's license to practice law in New York is revoked

2024-07-02 21:15:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Rudolph Giuliani, the former mayor of the city of New York, federal prosecutor and lawyer for the former President of the United States, Donald Trump, has been stripped of his license to practice law in New York. The ruling came after a court said he repeatedly made false statements in the 2020 election that was lost to former President Trump.

An appeals court in New York ruled that Mr. Giuliani, who already had his New York business license suspended in 2021 because of false statements he made after the election, is now permanently barred from practicing law. the lawyer. The decision takes effect immediately. His name has been removed from the New York State Bar.

Mr. Guliani's lawyer, Arthur Aidala, said that "we are definitely disappointed" but not surprised by the decision. He said that great efforts were made to stop the decision, but the defense team realized in time that there would be no way to challenge the decision.

The court said in its decision that Mr. Giuliani "essentially admitted" most of the facts supporting his alleged acts of inappropriate behavior during the hearings held in October 2023. The decision said that he justified himself by "not knew that the statements he had made were false and that he simply believed the arguments he made to support his client's (Trump) claim that his victory in the 2020 election had been stolen."

The court further said that Mr. Giuliani "falsely and dishonestly" claimed that during the 2020 presidential election thousands of votes were cast using the names of dead people in Philadelphia, including a ballot that was cast in the former champion's name. of boxing, the late Joe Frazier. He also falsely claimed that people were taken from Camden, a town near New Jersey, to vote illegally in the Pennsylvania town, the court said.

Mr. Giuliani is prohibited from practicing the profession of lawyer or legal adviser in any form.

Rudy Giuliani had not appeared in court as a lawyer since 1992 before he filed complaints against Mr. Trump's team for the November 2020 election.

The decision comes amid mounting difficulties for Mr. Giuliani, who filed for bankruptcy last year after being ordered to pay $148 million in restitution to two former election workers in Georgia. The decision was taken after he was found guilty of spreading lies about these two people, harming them in their lives, as well as putting them at the center of racist threats and harassment.

He is also facing criminal charges in Georgia and Arizona for his role in trying to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election. He has pleaded not guilty in both cases.

In Georgia, he has been charged with making false statements, conspiracy to forge documents, and soliciting state lawmakers to break their oath of office to nominate an alternate list of electors who would be in favor of former President Trump.

The Arizona indictment alleges that Mr. Giuliani pressured Maricopa County officials and state lawmakers to change the outcome of Arizona's election. He is also accused of encouraging the electors of this state to vote for Mr. Trump in December 2020 despite the result showing that it was candidate Joe Biden who had won the election in this state.

Rudy Giuliani built his public persona as a federal prosecutor in Manhattan in the 1980s, successfully fighting the Mafia. His reputation as a strong enforcer of law and order helped him enter politics, being elected mayor of the most populous city in the United States.

He was in charge of the city hall when the city was hit by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and because of the role he played in those times he was given the nickname 'America's mayor'. The Republican politician was praised for the way he led the city after two planes crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, killing more than 2,700 people.

But after unsuccessful runs for the Senate and for President of the United States, and a lucrative career as a consultant, Mr. Giuliani shed his image as a centrist politician who could get along with the Democrats, becoming one of the staunchest defenders of Mr. Trump.

He was a leading supporter of Mr. Trump's false claims of voter fraud during the 2020 election.

Lies about the election results prompted an angry pro-Trump mob to attack the Capitol on January 6, 2021, in an attempt to stop the certification of President Biden's victory./ VOA