Rudy Giuliani rants after losing New York law licence: ‘We do not live in a free state’

Donald Trump's former attorney Rudy Giuliani complained that "America is not America any longer" after his litany of conspiracy theories relating to the 2020 election resulted in him losing his right to practice law in New York.

An intermediate appellate court in New York temporarily suspended Mr Giuliani's law license in the state, calling the former mayor's actions an "immediate threat”. The ruling also claimed that Mr Giuliani had "directly inflamed" political tensions in the country.

In the days and weeks after the 2020 election, Mr Giuliani became the herald of Mr Trump's numerous, and debunked, conspiracy theories alleging there had been massive voter fraud that cost him the victory.

The former mayor appeared on conservative news channels to dole out blame on Thursday, often focusing his ire on Dominion Voting Systems, which sued him for defamation to the tune of $1.3bn, and made numerous press appearances to assure Mr Trump's loyal fans that he was on the job and was going to unravel the web of fraudulent activity allegedly spun by the Democrats.

He never did.

Mr Giuliani appeared on Newsmax, a Trump-boosting conservative media network, to discuss the loss of his license and – at, least in his mind, – the collapse of the US.

"Well, I'm not very happy about this," Mr Giuliani told the show's host, Greg Kelly. "All I can say is, America is not America any longer."

He claimed that the US is no longer a “free state”.

Apparently for Mr Giuliani, losing his law license for lying to the American public is what finally toppled the Republic.

Rather than being bogged down by remorse, personal reflection, or self-awareness, Mr Guiliani insisted that his law license was taken from him because he was actually too good at being a lawyer.

"I represented my client so effectively that they're trying to get me to shut up because they know what's gonna happen – because they did it – they know what's gonna happen in Arizona, and they know what's gonna happen in Georgia. And they want this mouth shut," he said.

Mr Giuliani seemed to suggest that the ongoing Maricopa County vote audit in Arizona – which has been blasted by both Democrats and Republicans as an "embarrassing" waste of time – will result in evidence of massive voter fraud. So far the highly partisan vote audit – the CEO of the company running the audit is a Trump supporter who parroted the former president's fraudulent claims about the 2020 election – has provided nothing to suggest the original count was incorrect.

Mr Trump has personally indicated that he expects to be in the White House again in 2024 "or before," suggesting he may sincerely think there is a way outside of an open coup for him to regain power. Even if Joe Biden were to be impeached and imprisoned for some crime he committed, Vice President Kamala Harris would take over the role. Mr Trump is not in the presidential line of succession.

Despite losing his license in New York, Mr Giulaini still has a law license in Washington DC.

He told Mr Kelly that he loved being a lawyer, and suspects that's why his license was suspended.