GOVERNMENT

Rudy Giuliani Officially Done With Biglaw Career
Or was he pushed out?

By ELIE MYSTAL
at 12:55 PM

Add another fundamental misstatement of fact to Rudolph Giuliani’s long ledger. When he was brought onto the Donald Trump legal defense team, he took a leave of absence from his law firm — Greenberg Traurig — and told reporters that he thought he could wrap up the Mueller investigation in a matter of weeks. ... Many news outlets uncritically parroted this idiotic statement from Giuliani.

But now even Giuliani is giving up the ghost on that falsehood. Today, Giuliani announced he is resigning from GT, so he can fully devote himself to the defense of Trump. “In light of the pressing demands of the Mueller investigation, I believe it is in everyone’s best interest that I make it a permanent resignation,” Giuliani said in a statement, published in the American Lawyer. ... As always, the legend of Rudy Giuliani far outpaces the reality of Rudy Giuliani.

While it’s in Giuliani’s interest to make it seem like it was his decision to leave the firm, the statement from Greenberg Traurig chairman Richard Rosenbaum makes me think that the firm was not exactly dying to keep “America’s Mayor.”

Rosenbaum said in a statement that when Giuliani took the leave on April 19, “his intent was to play a limited role, for a short period of time, to address specific matters for President Trump.”

Rosenbaum added, “After recognizing that this work is all consuming and is lasting longer than initially anticipated, Rudy has determined it is best for him to resign from the firm, effective May 9th. I have a great deal of respect for the Mayor’s incredible career and what he has done for New York City and our country for many years and consider him a friend.”

Okay, if you say so, Rich. But my guess is that if Giuliani was a valued member of the firm, an indefinite leave of absence might have worked out just fine. ... The fact is, Rudolph Giuliani has done nothing but embarrass himself since he re-joined Trump. He makes statements without knowing all the facts, and he goes on TV to offer weak legal analysis of standards he doesn’t seem to understand. And let’s not forget his deep and abiding hatred of Hillary Clinton — a private citizen who has nothing at all to do with the case he is allegedly assigned to, and every single time he flashes his evil little grin and says that she should be in jail.
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Elie Mystal is the Executive Editor of Above the Law and the Legal Editor for More Perfect. He can be reached @ElieNYC on Twitter, or at elie@abovethelaw.com. He will resist.