US President Donald Trump said on Monday he is awarding former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani the Presidential Medal of Freedom, announcing the honour two days after his political ally was seriously injured in a traffic accident.
The decision places the award on a man once lauded for leading New York after the September 11 attacks in 2001 – and later sanctioned by courts and disbarred for amplifying false claims about the 2020 election.
Giuliani was also criminally charged in two states. He has denied wrongdoing.
For much of the past two decades, Giuliani’s public life has been defined by a striking rise and fall.
Giuliani was mayor of New York from 1994 to 2001 and was once known as “America’s Mayor” for his response to the September 11 attacks.
After leading New York through the aftermath of the attacks, he mounted a brief campaign for the Republican presidential nomination and became one of the most recognisable political figures in the country.