Before Being Disbarred Rudy Tried To Blame His 2020 Lies On ‘Postelection Stress’

Last updated: 2024/07/03 at 1:19 AM

Much like the rest of us, Rudy Giuliani was apparently exhausted by the 2020 presidential campaign.

Giuliani, the former New York City mayor and personal attorney to ex-President Trump, was disbarred in his home state on Tuesday. The Manhattan appeals court ruling included a detailed breakdown and fact checking of the various lies Giuliani told about Trump’s 2020 loss as he scrambled to help the former president stay in power. It also included an incredible anecdote from a liability hearing conducted late last year as Giuliani, who initially had his New York law license suspended in 2021, attempted to plead his case. While the ruling describes Giuliani as most often trying to blame his election lies on others — including Trump — who provided him with information, in one instance he apparently put the onus on himself.

“During the hearing, respondent claimed that the postelection stress he was under may have affected his memory and caused him to misspeak,” the ruling said.

On the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, Giuliani displayed no sign of that type of self-reflection. Instead, he blamed the decision on the “Democrat one party corrupted court system.” Along with his disbarment, Giuliani’s efforts to help Trump reverse the 2020 election results have resulted in nine figures of damages that have him in bankruptcy proceedings and criminal charges in Georgia and Arizona.

Despite all of this, the “postelection stress” hasn’t stopped Giuliani from fighting back. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. A spokesperson for Giuliani also told the Associated Press that the former mayor plans to appeal the disbarment decision to a higher court.

Along with detailing the problems with Giuliani’s various lies — and his excuses for telling them — the disbarment ruling contained a dramatic assessment of the impact of his behavior from the Referee who conducted the liability hearing. In their view, Giuliani left us all with a bit of postelection stress.

“Respondent told numerous lies in numerous forums all designed to create distrust of the elective system of our country in the minds of its citizens and to destroy their confidence in the legitimacy of our government,” the referee said. “This behavior has done immeasurable damage to our democracy.”