Analysis | Giuliani's wild reversal, and a contagious disrespect for the rule of law – The Washington Post
When the full history of the Trump era is written, one of the defining themes will be the erosion of respect for the rule of law. Faced with the continued domination of their party by a man who at the very least flouts the law and attributes any legal scrutiny of himself to nefarious actors, Republicans have gradually embraced a strategy of backstopping his claims. That most often involves baseless and speculative conspiracy theories about the political “weaponization” of the government and legal system.
Republicans who initially balked at Donald Trump’s claims that the Russia investigation was a “witch hunt” have now fed the idea that Trump’s indictments are indeed part of one. They’ve gone from repudiating Jan. 6 rioters to promoting the idea that they were legitimate protesters and even being politically targeted by the Justice Department. They’ve gone after virtually every major law enforcement figure — even Republican ones such as Robert S. Mueller III, the last two FBI directors and U.S. Attorney David Weiss — who act in ways that could be politically adverse.
But rarely has this contagious disrespect for the rule of law been as conspicuous as it is right now with Rudy Giuliani.
The former New York mayor and Trump lawyer appears to be facing financial ruin thanks to his false claims that a pair of Georgia election workers helped rig the 2020 election. Giuliani has already been found liable in civil court for defaming the women, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, with a trial beginning this week to determine how much he will be forced to pay them.
As the matter was progressing toward trial, Giuliani appeared resigned to his fate. In an effort to beg off his obligations to provide evidence in the case, he signed a statement indicating he would no longer contest that his statements were false and defamatory.
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The judge later ruled that they were false and defamatory. But now Giuliani is pulling a remarkable public about-face. In an interview outside the courthouse on Monday night, Giuliani claimed that “everything I said about them” — the two women — “is true.”
“Of course I don’t regret it,” Giuliani said. “I told the truth. They were engaged in changing votes.”
When it was pointed out that there remains no proof of that, Giuliani responded, “You’re damn right there is. Stay tuned.”
The time for making this argument, of course, passed long ago. That Giuliani’s statements were false and defamatory has been decided. Giuliani proactively declined to try to argue that in court.
The judge in the case issued a swift rebuke on Tuesday morning, saying Giuliani’s statement’s might support a new defamation claim and questioning whether Giuliani would follow court orders when testifying. Giuliani’s lawyer struggled to account for his client’s actions, suggesting his advanced age was a factor.
Whatever the case, it’s clear Giuliani would very much like the public to believe that he was actually right without going to the trouble of actually proving it. A man who rose to political prominence as a swashbuckling prosecutor is brazenly flouting the legal process.
This is very much the story of the “big lie.” Its promoters, including Trump and Giuliani, routinely presented wild stolen-election claims that were often instantly debunked, as was the case with the claims about Georgia election workers. Then, when faced with legal scrutiny of those claims, they have often backed off them rather than present any real evidence. This includes many Trump lawyers — not just Giuliani, but also Sidney Powell and Jenna Ellis.
But regularly, they’ve pitched this not as recognition that their claims were false, but rather a necessary response to legal pressure. Ellis cut a deal in Colorado to avoid disbarment in which she admitted to 10 specific misrepresentations, but she quickly blamed “political lawfare to intimidate lawyers.” Powell declined to back up her claims in her own legal proceedings and even pleaded guilty in the Georgia election-subversion case in which Trump and Giuliani are also indicted. But she has continued to promote stolen-election claims, and her organization’s newsletter has fed the idea that her guilty plea was “extorted.”
The sum total of all of it is that people who are inclined to subscribe to the “big lie” that the election was stolen are being invited to believe that the utter legal repudiation of that argument is immaterial. That these people haven’t proved their false and baseless claims three years later and are paying the price is not due to those claims’ falsity and baselessness, but rather it’s a result of the nefarious actors targeting those who would dare to question their efforts to overturn the election.
It should be no surprise, then, that so many Americans continue to falsely believe the election was stolen — as many as 7 in 10 Republicans and 4 in 10 Americans overall. As many as half of them concede there’s no solid evidence of this, but they’ve gone on believing it all the same.
Nor should it be any surprise that 84 percent of Trump supporters say they would still vote for him even as a felon.
The legal remedies against an ugly effort to thwart American democracy have been exercised in significant ways. But they’ve done little to reduce the fever. That’s not just thanks to those who remain truly committed to the political advantages of the “big lie” like Giuliani and Trump, but also to those who have created the permission structure for their supporters to believe it’s all part of a grand legal conspiracy.
It looks increasingly as though the casualties of the “big lie” could include not just those who bet their careers and livelihoods on it, but also regard for the rule of law holding them to account.
The latest: Four of Trump’s co-defendants have pleaded guilty in the Georgia election case. Trump previously entered a plea of not guilty. The Washington Post published details of recorded statements given to prosecutors by the co-defendants who accepted plea deals in the case, offering previously undisclosed information about the effort by Trump and his allies to reverse his defeat.
The charges: Trump was charged with 13 counts, including violating the state’s racketeering act. Read the full text of the Georgia indictment. Here’s a breakdown of the charges against Trump and a list of everyone else who was charged in the Georgia case. Trump now faces 91 total charges in four criminal cases.
The case: Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis (D) has been investigating whether Trump and his associates broke the law when they sought to overturn Trump’s 2020 election loss in Georgia. Here’s what happens next in the Georgia case.
Historic mug shot: Trump surrendered at the Fulton County Jail on charges that he illegally conspired to overturn his 2020 election loss. Authorities released his booking record — including his height and weight — and mug shot.