Sept. 26 (UPI) — Rudy Giuliani was disbarred from practicing law in Washington over his participation in efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, a local appeals court ruled Thursday.
The three-judge panel of the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals cited Giuliani’s work representing former President Donald Trump in his efforts to undo his election loss to President Joe Biden in their decision.
“We conclude that disbarment is the only sanction that will protect the public, the courts, and the integrity of the legal profession, and deter other lawyers from launching similarly baseless claims in the pursuit of such wide-ranging yet completely unjustified relief,” the court’s report said.
Giuliani was among a cadre of figures attempting to help Trump remain in office despite losing the 2020 presidential election, including making calls to Republican leaders in various states. He still faces state charges in Georgia and Arizona because of his actions.
They noted that Giuliani’s efforts amounted to requesting a federal judge disenfranchise hundreds of Pennsylvania voters despite a lack of “objectively reliable evidence” a scheme against Trump existed.
Giuliani, who became a national figure as mayor of New York City during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, had his license in the nation’s capital temporarily barred in 2021. He had been a Washington bar member since 1976.
New York state court stripped Giuliani of his bar license in July for making “demonstrably false and misleading statements to courts, lawmakers, and the public at large in his capacity as a lawyer” to Trump.
A jury ordered Giuliani in December to pay $148 million to two election workers in Georgia who he charged without credible evidence of election fraud. He filed for bankruptcy after the verdict, which was dismissed and is currently under appeal.