MIDDLEBURY, Vermont – Middlebury College revoked an honorary title awarded to Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, the school said on Tuesday.
The school awarded Giuliani the diploma in 2005 in recognition of his response to 9/11 as mayor of New York City.
Middlebury College decided to revoke Giuliani’s honorary title after last week’s violent uprising against the country’s capitol, saying he played a role. The college announced its decision in posts on its social media accounts on Tuesday night.
At a rally before the Jan. 6 riot, Trump told his morning crowd to “fight like hell” and Giuliani, whose attempt to reject election results at a court trial failed, pleaded, “Let’s do the trial for combat”.
“In light of the role that presidential attorney Rudolph Giuliani played in fomenting the violent revolt against our nation’s Capitol building on January 6, 2021 – an insurrection against democracy itself – the Middlebury leadership initiated the process we established to consider the revocation of an honorary degree, ”Middlebury President Laurie Patton said in a Facebook post on Sunday.
Giuliani also faces a possible expulsion from the New York State Bar. The organization said on Monday it had opened an inquiry into whether Giuliani should remain a member. Its charter states that “no person who defends the overthrow of the United States government” shall remain a member.
