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Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
"Imagine once being dubbed 'America's Mayor' and having an illustrious legal and political career, and throwing it all away for Donald Trump," said one observer.
Former Republican New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani can no longer practice law in the nation's capital after a federal appeals court on Thursday concurred with a disciplinary committee's recommendation for permanent disbarment over his efforts to "undermine the results of the 2020 presidential election" in service of then-President Donald Trump's "Big Lie."
In a one-page ruling, the Washington, D.C. Court of Appeals permanently revoked Giuliani's law license, finding that the former federal prosecutor and personal attorney for Trump failed to explain why he should not be subject to reciprocal punishment after the New York Supreme Court's Appellate Division disbarred him in July for lying about the 2020 election.
The New York tribunal found that Giuliani "repeatedly and intentionally made false statements, some of which were perjurious, to the federal court, state lawmakers, the public... and this court concerning the 2020 presidential election, in which he baselessly attacked and undermined the integrity of this country's electoral process."
Giuliani is also facing criminal charges related to alleged election subversion in Arizona and Georgia. He filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last December following a $148 million defamation judgment for falsely accusing two former Georgia election workers of engaging in a nonexistent conspiracy to "steal" the 2020 election.
These blows, culminating in Thursday's D.C. disbarment, mark a stunning fall from grace for Giuliani, who, as "America's Mayor" in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, was named Time's "Person of the Year." Giuliani parlayed his popularity into a 2008 run for president in which he was an early GOP front-runner.
Giuliani spokesperson Ted Goodman slammed the D.C. court's ruling as a "miscarriage of justice."
"Members of the legal community who want to protect the integrity of our justice system should immediately speak out against this partisan, politically motivated decision," Goodman said in a statement.
Some observers linked Giuliani's disbarment to Thursday's indictment of current New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, on corruption charges.
"Tough day for New York City mayors,"
quippedDemocracy Docket founder Marc Elias.
This increased security underscores the outrage of millions of U.S. citizens that he has been invited to speak at the U.S. Congress as he conducts a genocide in Gaza.
Unbelievably, the U.S. Congress invited the war criminal Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress on July 24, thereby solidifying the complicity of the Executive and Legislative branches of the U.S. government in the genocide of Gaza.
An open gate of fence is pictured that will be closed for Netanyahu's trip to the U.S. Capitol. (Photo: Ann Wright)
Incredibly, the security arrangements for one person, Benjamin Netanyahu, surpass those implemented for 32 heads of state during the recent NATO anniversary in Washington, D.C.
While the NATO meetings involved high fences around the Washington Convention Center, the security for Netanyahu's visit includes fencing off the entire U.S. Capitol complex, placing barricades in front of the House of Representatives and Senate buildings, and around the Watergate complex where he stayed.
All states have the obligation not to recognize as legal Israel’s presence in the OPT and not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by the continued presence of Israel in the OPT.
Additionally, the Capitol buildings will be closed to the public all day on July 24, an occurrence even rarer than the security measures taken for the annual Presidential State of the Union address to a Joint Session of Congress.
This increased security underscores the outrage of millions of U.S. citizens that he has been invited to speak at the U.S. Congress. But, the outrage has not turned violent, unlike the January 6 riot on the Capitol by supporters of former U.S. President Donald Trump.
The prosecutor for the International Criminal Court has requested an arrest warrant for Netanyahu for his role in the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. Over 39,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, 2023 with tens of thousands still buried under the rubble of their homes.
The recent Lancet report estimates that over 186,000 have been killed by Israeli military action in the past nine months.
Virtually all medical clinics and hospitals, schools, universities, and residential buildings have been destroyed by the brutal Israeli attacks on Gaza. Even the United Nations headquarters building in Gaza has been targeted and destroyed by Israeli forces using U.S. aircraft and weapons. The UNRWA schools and clinics have been destroyed in the Israeli plan to leave Gaza uninhabitable to force Palestinians to leave Gaza so that Israeli settlers can take over. In the past two days, at least 89 Palestinians have been killed in Khan Younis.
Adding further to the crimes of Netanyahu and the Israeli government, on July 19, 2024, the most recent pronouncement of the International Court of Justice, "Legal Consequences Arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Including East Jerusalem," held that:
We are most powerful when we dismantle the systems designed to isolate, disconnect, and distract us from uniting against the genocide in Gaza.
Being in Washington, D.C., the heart of the beast, meant that establishing and maintaining our encampment was a formidable task. Situated just a 15-minute walk from the State Department and the White House, we were perpetually under surveillance. Yet, it was precisely for this reason that we needed to be there—to confront the institutions that uphold the empire. No bomb falls in Gaza without the State Department's consent; no child is maimed by airstrikes without the White House's approval. Just around the corner, the architects of genocide convened to plan further carnage against my people in Gaza.
The camaraderie forged at the encampment was unforgettable. Time seemed to stretch and warp—two weeks felt like months, even years. In our modern world, uniting in large numbers for a powerful cause such as Palestinian liberation is rare. At the George Washington University encampment, friendships and solidarity blossomed quickly. Everyone understood that daily routines were distractions from what truly mattered: standing up for Gaza, for Palestine, against the relentless and systematic violence of a depraved Zionist state intent on massacring an innocent population, punishing them for their mere existence.
I am from Gaza. Dozens of my relatives have been murdered by the Israeli regime. I could never have imagined the scenes we experienced at Shohada' Square (Martyr's Square), our name for the "University Yard" where our encampment stood.
Gaza, and by extension our encampment, taught us that true liberation is achieved by consistently prioritizing the group's welfare over individual gain.
After enduring the struggle for a free Palestine alone for most of my life, the encampment finally gave me a family of individuals who understood that Gaza's plight is an existential issue that we must all attend to. For the first time in almost a decade of living in North America, I felt at home. We did not have to feign a sense of normalcy, nor did we shy away from challenging the state responsible for the most live-streamed genocide in human history. So the tents were put up, adorned with Palestinian flags and banners. Every day, the air was thick with the scent of shared meals and the hum of voices engaged in discussion. The encampment was not just a group of individuals; it represented a collective force bound by a shared struggle and an unbreakable commitment to Palestinian liberation.
For this, university president Ellen Granberg and Mayor Muriel Bowser of D.C. ordered the local police department to raid our encampment, to brutalize and vigorously pepper spray the students and supportive community. All because they dared to be unwavering in their demand for the liberation of Palestine.
The support from our local D.C. and extended DMV (DC, Maryland, and Virginia area) community, especially in the early days of the encampment, revealed the unbreakable interconnectedness of our fight. This principle must guide every action and decision, especially in moments of opportunity and peril. Our time at the encampment revealed a profound truth: We are most powerful when we dismantle the systems designed to isolate, disconnect, and distract us from uniting against the genocide in Gaza. During our two weeks together, we forged bonds that transcended the constraints of a system fixated on capital over humanity. We discovered a deeper, radical connection that challenges these structures.
Contrary to the "outside agitator" narrative propagated by mainstream media, the encampment unveiled the geographic and psychological divisions meant to keep us apart. These divisions prevent us from fully embracing and fighting for each other's freedom and true liberation. The encampment stands for Gaza, for Palestine, and for the liberation of Palestinians from settler-colonial hegemony. It is the heart of our struggle. It symbolizes a broader fight for collective liberation and the realization that a better future is attainable for everyone. Each day at the encampment was dedicated to thought, learning, exchanging ideas, and sustaining one another.
This movement was never confined to students alone. At George Washington University, our supportive D.C. and extended DMV community had the opportunity to bolster our cause for Palestinian liberation. Whether or not everyone fully grasped this cause as part of our larger struggle, they profoundly understood it when they united to bring it to life. The encampment taught us the imperative of challenging the systems facilitating the ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
As committed citizens and active participants in the fight for collective liberation, we must balance the line between reasonable risk and self-preservation. Prioritizing individual safety and comfort over collective sacrifice is the path most tread because it is what we are taught. This mindset allowed the university to call in a brutal Metropolitan Police force to terrorize, beat, and pepper spray students and community members. President Granbeg, the complicit university administration, and Mayor Bowser demonstrated their priority of maintaining genocidal policies over divesting from them.
Simply put, the encampment showed that our strength as a collective lies in our numbers, and our power is magnified when we act in unison. We must continually reflect on and challenge how often we prioritize personal comfort over the collective good. This is how we honor the sacrifices made by my people and family in Gaza. Gaza, and by extension our encampment, taught us that true liberation is achieved by consistently prioritizing the group's welfare over individual gain.
Within the encampment, people understood that they are united in this struggle. As a Palestinian from Gaza, I have come to understand the rationale behind prioritizing sacrifice for Palestine. This is not a symbolic point or an abstract act of courage but a settled understanding developed over the last nine months that my life is no more valuable than any life lost or enduring in Gaza. As a Palestinian in the diaspora, the student encampments represented the forefront of our opposition to imperialism and colonialism in the U.S., embodying the spirit of our fight. We must look past a rudimentary view of our student movement as a focal point but rather understand what the students did was intertwined with the local community that understood the importance of opposing imperialism from within its place of origin.
Our struggle is one, our liberation is intertwined, and with our combined fights and sacrifices we will soon see a free Palestine, inshAllah.