Esteemed NYC mayor's rapid fall from grace from hero politician to criminal case
Rudy Giuliani was once one of the most prominent American politicians, and as mayor of New York City at the time of the 9/11 attacks, he was seen in a positive light by most people - but his recent fall from grace has completely changed the way he is perceived in the US.
Giuliani was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1944. He was educated at Manhattan College and New York University. His career began in 1970 when he worked for the US government, holding positions in the office of the US attorney and in the Department of Justice. He also worked privately from 1977 to 1981 before returning to public duties.
In 1983, Giuliani was appointed US attorney for the Southern District of New York. He became affiliated with the Republican Party early in his political career, and after a narrow defeat in 1989, he became the mayor of NYC in 1993 - becoming the first Republican to hold the position in two decades.
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Giuliani's mugshot after he surrendered and was booked (AP)As mayor, he promised to reform the city's finances and crack down on crime, including punishing litterers, reckless cab drivers, and those who did not pay subway fares. A press release by his office on July 1, 1998, said overall crime for the first six months of 1998 decreased by 49.3 percent and homicides by 69.3 percent citywide when compared to the same period in 1993.
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He was quoted saying: "Over the past four-and-a-half years, New York City has been transformed from the nation's crime capital to the safest large city in the United States. As a result, New Yorkers in every neighbourhood feel safer in their homes and in their communities. Police Commissioner Safir and I want to thank the men and women of the Department for their continued commitment to reducing crime and for significantly improving the quality of life in all our City's neighbourhoods. I would also like to acknowledge the many community leaders and groups who have worked closely with the Police Department to make this historic reduction possible."
He continued: "Last year, we launched a major initiative designed to remove drugs from our streets, playgrounds and neighbourhoods. The results have been astonishing. We have been able to reduce crime to record levels. The murder rate is at a three-decade low -- in several precincts this year there have been no murders. The men and women of the Police Department are committed to driving drugs out of our communities and their commitment will result in even further historic reductions."
But his claims were criticised by some who pointed out he was taking credit for a crime decrease that was actually a nationwide trend. He also appeared to be defending officers' misconduct following a series of incidents involving charges of police brutality.
As mayor, he refused to meet visiting dignitaries if he disagreed with their policies - and in 1999, he tried to withdraw funding for the Brooklyn Museum of Art following an exhibition that many found offensive or sacrilegious but was overruled in court.
Giuliani walking around Times Square in New York in October 2001 (AP)Despite this, he maintained high rankings, and when New York City was attacked on September 11, 2001, he was praised for the way he handled the situation. He was a constant presence at ground zero as he said he needed to see what had happened for myself. He became celebrated as "America's Mayor" and Time magazine declared him "Person of the Year".
In a poll carried out just six weeks after the attack, Giuliani received a 79% approval rating among NYC voters - a huge increase from the 36% rating he had received a year earlier. In 2008, he ran as president, but was not elected, and many consider that year as a turning point in his career.
After the failed election bid, Giuliani and his then-wife Judith moved to Florida where Donald Trump put them up for a month in a bungalow at his Mar-a-Lago estate, biographer Andrew Kirtzman said in 'Giuliani: The Rise and Tragic Fall of America's Mayor', which was published last year. The author wrote: "Trump really took Giuliani under his wing at a very vulnerable moment. And then in 2016, Trump decided to run for president, and he needed Giuliani and Giuliani needed Trump."
During Donald Trump's campaign in 2016, Giuliani was once again in the public eye, but many people were left surprised by his attacks and frequent claims that Hillary Clinton had committed crimes. When Trump was elected president, Giuliani hoped to get into his cabinet but did not get the position.
Giuliani supported Trump during his campaign (AFP/Getty Images)But as a supporter of Trump, he travelled to Ukraine seeking damaging information about Joe Biden's son, Hunter. His contacts with Ukrainian figures also played a role in Trump's first impeachment trial and prompted an FBI investigation. In April 2018, Giuliani joined Trump's personal legal team.
When Trump lost the election in 2020, Giuliani supported him in trying to overturn the results, spreading claims of voter fraud, which was never proved in court. On January 6, 2021, when the Congress was due to certify Joe Biden's victory, Giuliani as a speaker at a pro-Trump rally, urging the crowd to "have trial by combat".
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A number of Trump's supporters then staged a violent attack on the Capitol, temporarily delaying the certification process. After the incident, Giuliani, then Trump's lawyer, defended his words saying they were "hyperbolic".
In April 2021, federal agents raided his home and office, seizing computers and cellphones, but the probe was later dropped without any charges, reports ABC News. His ex-wife Judith said she felt "sorry for him" and noted he had changed over the years, as he was no longer the person she had known in the aftermath of 9/11 and following his 2008 election loss.
She 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."
Giuliani claimed he was being wrongly prosecuted (AP)Last month, his mugshot was released when he surrendered in the Donald Trump Georgia 2020 election case. The ex-US President and 18 allies face charges over efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia. The nearly 100-page indictment details dozens of acts by the group to undo Trump’s defeat to Joe Biden.
Trump, who is running for re-election to the White House next year, is charged with racketeering that carries up to 20 years in prison. This afternoon Fulton County Sheriff’s Office released Rudy Giuliani's mug shot following his surrender earlier today.
In brief comments to reporters after his booking, former New York City mayor Giuliani said he had spoken with Trump, announcing: "I talked to the president today. I wish him well. I have every confidence in him". He laughed when asked if he regretted allying with Trump.
He added: "I am very, very honoured to be involved in this case because this case is a fight for our way of life. This indictment is a travesty. It's an attack on not just me, not just President Trump, not just the people in this indictment, some of whom I don't even know - this is an attack on the American people."
Giuliani also claimed he was being wrongly prosecuted by District Attorney Fani Willis, adding: "Five other lawyers are indicted. That should tell you right away that this is an assault on our Constitution. Fani Willis will go down in American history as having conducted one of the worst attacks on the American Constitution ever when this case is dismissed."
On Monday it was reported that Hunter Biden sued Giuliani and his lawyer alleging "total annihilation" of his digital privacy through attempts to tie his legal and personal problems to his father, Joe Biden. The defendants are alleged to have "dedicated an extraordinary amount of time and energy toward looking for, hacking into, tampering with, manipulating, copying, disseminating, and generally obsessing over data that they were given that was taken or stolen from [Hunter Biden's] devices or storage platforms, including what defendants claim to have obtained from [Biden’s] alleged ‘laptop’ computer," according to the lawsuit.
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