Trump Plans Honor for Giuliani

President Trump said Monday he will award former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani the Presidential Medal of Freedom, announcing the honor two days after his political ally and former lawyer was badly injured in a traffic accident. In a statement on social media, Trump called Giuliani—who was heralded for his leadership following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks but has drawn opposition for his defense of Trump and has been disbarred in two jurisdictions—the "greatest Mayor in the history of New York City, and an equally great American Patriot."

Giuliani is recovering from a fractured vertebra and other injuries following a car crash in New Hampshire in which he was a passenger, a spokesperson for the former mayor said Sunday. He was released from a hospital on Monday, per the New York Times. Giuliani was disbarred as an attorney in New York and Washington after he was found to have repeatedly made false statements about Trump's loss in the 2020 presidential election, per the AP. He was criminally charged in Georgia and Arizona over his role in the effort to overturn the 2020 election; Giuliani denied the allegations.

Former Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Wandrea "Shaye" Moss won a $148 million defamation judgment against Giuliani for his false ballot fraud claims against them related to the 2020 election. Freeman and Moss said Giuliani pushed Trump's lies about the election being stolen, which led to death threats that made them fear for their lives.