(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
This morning, Rudy Giuliani faced a D.C. Bar misconduct hearing arising from his efforts galavanting around the country filing false claims of election fraud ultimately laughed out of every court. Whether Rudy remembered his professional and ethical obligations as an attorney when he launched these claims is yet to be decided, but one thing he definitely forgot was putting on his watch this morning.
So he put on a second one.
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These Trump people keep two sets of everything, huh?
At the conclusion of the morning session of his Bar disciplinary hearing, Rudy tells his lawyer on a hot mic that he mistakenly put two watches on today. pic.twitter.com/v1SJGdVtZt
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) December 5, 2022
In his defense, only one was his watch and the other was “his watch total landscaping.”
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As a twist, watches actually came up in the hearing:
D.C. disciplinary counsel gets miffed about Rudy Giuliani's evasive answers to his questions.
"I'm asking you what time it is and you're telling me how to make a watch."
— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) December 5, 2022
Make a watch? He can’t even figure out that he’s wearing one!
How he managed to wear 2 watches — that do not appear to fit under his shirt or suit cuff — without anyone including himself noticing strains credulity. And while this could reflect the real tragedy of cognitive decline, it’s hard to dismiss the possibility that this is a ploy from a man who has always fancied himself a far more cagey strategist than his record indicates.
Since his entire defense amounted to saying he didn’t remember participating in filings that he’s already on the record admitting he absolutely participated in, and making a spectacle of hijacking questions to deliver advocacy statements instead of answers — to the point it frustrated both counsel and the committee — we can’t discount the prospect that this is just a juvenile ploy to skirt liability by pulling an Uncle Leo:
Hey, it worked for Giuliani’s Borat flap!
Let’s leave it on this note:
Judge “Mr. Giuliani, you’re facing real time”
Rudy “you’re telling me… I accidentally wore two watches today!” pic.twitter.com/pkR1KNNHpv
— devon sawa (@DevonESawa) December 5, 2022
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.