Rudy Giuliani disbarred over false 2020 election claims

Rudy Giuliani was disbarred Tuesday following years of legal trouble from false claims he made after the 2020 election.

An appeals court in Manhattan handed down the decision to strip Mr. Giuliani, a former presidential advisor, New York City mayor and US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, of his legal credentials on Tuesday.

The court said he made repeated false statements about former President Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss.

Mr Giuliani, 80, previously had his law license suspended in 2021 for making the claims.

“Mr. Giuliani is obviously disappointed in the decision and we are weighing our appellate options,” Barry Kamins, Giuliani’s representative said in a statement to New York Law Journal.

Mr Kamins could not be reached by BBC News.

In the ruling, the court said Mr Giuliani’s disciplinary charges stem from the “demonstrably false and misleading statements” he made to courts, lawmakers and the public in his capacity as Trump’s lawyer.

“These false statements were made to improperly bolster respondent’s narrative that due to widespread voter fraud, victory in the 2020 United States presidential election was stolen from his client,” the court said, referring to Trump.

Tuesday’s ruling is the latest in a string of legal and financial troubles for Mr Giuliani.

In May, he pleaded not guilty to nine felony charges in what prosecutors say was “fake elector” scheme to falsely declare Trump the winner of the 2020 election in Arizona.

Mr Giuliani was charged alongside 17 others for his alleged role in that scheme.

He filed for bankruptcy last year after losing a $148 million defamation lawsuit that stemmed from similar false statements he made after Trump attempted to retain the presidency.