Rudy Giuliani #

Introduction #

Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor who earned the nickname “America’s Mayor” for his leadership after the September 11 attacks and later served as Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, suffered one of the most dramatic falls from public grace of any American political figure. In December 2023, a federal jury found him liable for defaming two Georgia election workers and ordered him to pay $148 million in damages — among the largest defamation verdicts in U.S. history. The ruling capped a descent that began when he led efforts to challenge the 2020 presidential election results on the basis of false claims of voter fraud.

Background Information #

Giuliani built his reputation as a prosecutor, serving as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York before winning election as mayor of New York City in 1993. He led the city through a period of declining crime, and his profile rose sharply after the September 11, 2001, attacks, when his steady public presence during the crisis made him a national symbol of resilience.

After leaving office, he remained in public life as a commentator and consultant before joining Trump’s legal team as his personal lawyer in 2018. Following the 2020 election, he became the public face of efforts to challenge the results, appearing at news conferences and before state legislatures to advance claims of widespread voter fraud that were repeatedly rejected by courts and election officials.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation #

After the 2020 presidential election, Giuliani led efforts to challenge the results, making repeated false claims of voter fraud, including accusations against Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, two Georgia election workers who helped process ballots in Atlanta. He alleged the pair had engaged in ballot fraud; the claims were contradicted by election officials and investigations, yet they spread widely online and drew threats and harassment against the two women.

His election-related conduct also brought professional consequences. In 2021, the New York bar suspended his law license over his election-related conduct, and the bar in Washington, D.C., took similar action.

Freeman and Moss sued Giuliani for defamation. In December 2023, after a federal trial, a jury found him liable and awarded them $148 million in damages — a sum among the largest defamation verdicts in U.S. history.

Separately, Giuliani was indicted in Georgia in 2023 on racketeering (RICO) charges over efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and pleaded not guilty. He was also indicted in Arizona in 2024 in connection with similar efforts.

Public Reaction and Consequences #

The defamation verdict drew national attention both for its size and for the harm the two election workers described at trial. Jurors heard testimony that Freeman and Moss endured threats and harassment and were forced to flee their homes and leave their jobs after Giuliani amplified false claims about them, and the $148 million award was widely reported as one of the largest defamation judgments in U.S. history.

The verdict shattered Giuliani’s finances. He filed for bankruptcy, and courts later ordered him to turn over assets including his New York apartment and personal property, according to reports by 2025.

His legal exposure continued to grow alongside the civil case. In July 2024, a New York appeals court disbarred him, and his Washington, D.C., law license was revoked in 2025, according to reports.

Current Status #

As of the most recent reporting, Giuliani’s Georgia criminal case remained pending, with the racketeering charges he pleaded not guilty to in 2023 still unresolved. His disbarment in New York and the revocation of his D.C. license left him unable to practice law in either jurisdiction.

Bankruptcy proceedings continued as courts ordered the turnover of his New York apartment and personal property to satisfy the judgment, according to reports. Giuliani has continued to dispute the verdict and the underlying allegations, maintaining publicly that his efforts to challenge the election were legitimate.

Impact on Their Career/Life #

The consequences of the defamation verdict and the related legal proceedings reached nearly every part of Giuliani’s life. His media work and public standing collapsed, and he went from a celebrated mayor — long invoked as a symbol of steady leadership after 9/11 — to a figure defined by the defamation verdict and his disbarment.

The $148 million judgment forced him to surrender assets accumulated over a long career, including his New York apartment and personal property. His law license, once among his most significant professional credentials, was stripped in two jurisdictions.

For much of his later public life, Giuliani had reinvented himself as a combative media presence and political operative, but the election challenges and their aftermath came to define his final chapter in public life. His legacy is now permanently entangled with the false claims he pressed and the record-setting verdict that followed.