Rudy Giuliani stripped of DC law license

A Bar panel cited Giuliani's 'recklessly' and 'utterly false' claims in a Pennsylvania lawsuit seeking to overturn Trump's 2020 loss

(Image credit: Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images)

By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US

published 27 September 2024

What happened

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, once one of the most powerful politicians in the country, was disbarred in Washington, D.C., Thursday. New York stripped Giuliani of his law license in July over his efforts to subvert the 2020 presidential election on Donald Trump's behalf.

Giuliani's Washington disbarment is the result of a "reciprocal relationship with the New York Bar," CNN said. The D.C. Court of Appeals found that he had not responded to a court order to explain why Washington should not follow New York's lead. Giuliani's D.C. license, which he held since 1976, had been suspended since 2021, The Washington Post said, and a D.C. Bar panel in May had suggested it be revoked entirely, citing his "recklessly" and "utterly false" claims in a Pennsylvania lawsuit seeking to overturn Trump's 2020 loss. It was "not immediately clear why Giuliani was unresponsive to the D.C. court," after having fought his disbarment for years, Politico said.

Giuliani's disbarment is a "partisan, politically motivated decision," spokesperson Ted Goodman said in a statement. "This is an absolute travesty and a total miscarriage of justice." He has 14 days to appeal.

Giuliani is set to go to trial next month for his role in the Arizona fake electors case, and he's also a co-defendant in a stalled Georgia election interference case. He has pleaded not guilty in both cases. Two Georgia election workers who won a $148 million defamation judgment against Giuliani asked a court last month to force him to "turn over his New York apartment, any remaining cash and some of his prized New York Yankees memorabilia," The Associated Press said.

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Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.