The Fall of Rudy Giuliani 

By Jason Collins

 

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed here are those of the authors. View more opinion on ScoonTV

History, both ancient and modern, is filled with the dramatic rise and fall of powerful figures. Rudy Giuliani, once hailed for his successful prosecutions and leadership in the wake of 9/11, now finds his legacy overshadowed by a web of legal troubles. From a high-profile defamation case to a criminal indictment, Giuliani’s descent has left him financially diminished and publicly disgraced, a stark contrast to the towering image he once projected

The Most Famous Law Enforcement Officer in the U.S. 

Before Giuliani made headline after headline stemming from the 2020 election, he made a name for himself for a completely different reason. Born in Brooklyn to children of Italian immigrants, his father encouraged him to pursue a career in law enforcement to tackle organized crime. After graduating from New York University’s law school in 1970, he landed a job as an assistant U.S. attorney in the city’s Southern District, and by the age of 30, he was already one of the top prosecutors. Throughout those years, Giuliani was the face behind some of the most high-profile prosecutions of organized crime families in New York City. 

Then in 1989, he ran for election and lost, but did not give up and won the 1994 election, becoming mayor of New York City. During his eight-year stint as mayor, his administration is credited with reducing serious crime, which saw a 66% drop in murder and a whopping 70% drop in shootings.

In 2001, during the last three months of his term, Time magazine had even named him Person of the Year for 2001 because of his rescue efforts after the September 9/11 terrorist attacks. He became a symbol of the nation’s resiliency in the face of tragedy, soon becoming known as “America’s Mayor.”

Giuliani’s star was so bright that he was the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination in 2008. He couldn’t resonate with primary voters and dropped out of the race after a third-place finish in the Florida primary.

Still, Giuliani appeared to have a promising political future.   

So, what went so wrong for a man with such a successful law enforcement career? How did one of New York’s most famous law enforcement officers and a hero mayor become someone who’s the leader of an attempt to overturn a national election and disbarred from the practice of law? 

The Start of His Downfall 

The biggest reason for his downfall? Pride? Perhaps. Flying too close to the Sun? Undoubtedly. Primarily, though, it was his relationship with Donald Trump and the role he took on for the former President. 

In 2008, Giuliani had dreamed of being the first Italian-American president of the United States, but lost during the Republican primaries. After this loss, the former mayor turned to drink and was depressed. It was Trump who came to his rescue and invited Giuliani and his wife to stay at a cottage in Mar-A-Lago. 

By the 2020 elections, Giuliani had transformed into Donald Trump’s personal attack dog and crisis manager, a role that demanded fierce loyalty and a willingness to operate outside traditional legal boundaries. He spearheaded the campaign to overturn the election results, promoting baseless claims of widespread voter fraud and coordinating efforts to pressure state officials and courts.

Giuliani appeared at contentious press conferences, filed dubious lawsuits, and amplified conspiracy theories, all in service to a president who rewarded loyalty above all else. In doing so, he tethered his fate to a political crusade that defied both legal precedent and democratic norms. It was this entanglement, more than any single action, that set in motion the chain of events that would ultimately destroy the credibility and career he had spent decades building

Giuliani’s Lowest Level: Indictment in Georgia 

In 2023, Giuliani, along with Trump’s other 18 allies, was indicted in Georgia over their efforts to overturn the election results, which Trump had lost “unfairly” according to his cronies. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis used a law usually associated with mobsters, which is pretty ironic since, at one point, Giuliani was the one prosecuting mobsters. Willis used Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) to charge Trump and his allies for a wide-ranging conspiracy.

Giuliani’s involvement in the Jan. 6 attacks was also investigated for making incendiary remarks to Trump supporters along the lines of engaging in trial by combat. The New York State Bar Association found that his remarks encouraged Trump supporters. The Georgia case also accused the former mayor of making false statements and soliciting false testimonies. It was during this case that the Bar Association recommended that he be disbarred. 

Another Blow: Georgia Defamation Case 

Two Georgia election workers sued the former mayor for defamation after he falsely accused the two women of manipulating the election results. The accusation resulted in Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss being hounded by Trump supporters and receiving death threats. 

During this trial, Giulani was found in contempt of court twice, and even after the two women won a $150 million defamation verdict against him, he continued to make false insinuations. The saga eventually came to an end when Giuliani reached a settlement with the women and paid the money he owed.    

CNN reported that District Judge Beryl Howell’s verdict read,

Mr Giuliani engaged in the worst kind of defamation…It is outrageous and shameful.

From Hero-Mayor to Butt of the Joke 

Giuliani’s court cases, a news conference in Pennsylvania at an out-of-the-way location next to a pornography shop and being spotted with hair dye streaking down his face have left him the butt of memes and late-night television jokes. What didn’t help was resurfaced clips from Borat that showed him in a compromising position with a young actress. 

His ex-wife Judith had said,

The man that I knew 20 years ago, the hero of Sept. 11, bears no resemblance to this man. I actually feel sorry for him. It’s sad. He’s not the person that he used to be to any of us. 

But not everyone feels the same way or is surprised by this fall. AP News shared what Donna Lieberman from New York Civil Liberties Union said, “The real Rudy Giuliani was hiding in plain sight. Just because he was the face of a devastated and pained city after 9/11 doesn’t mean that he wasn’t still the authoritarian, anti-democratic bully” that he was “for 90% of his mayoralty.” 

Giuliani’s fall from grace is not just a personal tragedy, but a cautionary tale about power, loyalty, and losing sight of your principles. Once celebrated as America’s mayor, Giuliani’s legacy is now in tatters. John Flannery, a former federal prosecutor who worked with Giuliani years ago, compared Giuliani’s fall to a famous quote about power and corruption from Lord Acton: “power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Flannery sums up the fall of Rudy Giuliani:

He got close enough to taste it, and he just needs it.

In the end, Rudy Giuliani’s story serves as a mirror held up to the dangers of unchecked ambition. What began as a career defined by law, order, and public service has devolved into a spectacle of denial and desperation. The man who once stood at Ground Zero as a symbol of resilience now faces disbarment, criminal charges, and public disgrace. His descent reminds us that even the most storied reputations can unravel when loyalty to power overtakes loyalty to truth, and when the pursuit of influence eclipses the principles that once defined a legacy.

 

 

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