Rudy Giuliani’s Law License Suspended Over Election Lie Spree

Rudy Giuliani has been suspended from practicing law in New York state due to his “demonstrably false and misleading statements” about the 2020 election result.

The New York Supreme Court Appellate Division’s grievance committee filed a summary of disciplinary proceedings on Thursday, outlining multiple instances of attorney misconduct and violations of the rules of professional conduct.

“[W]e conclude that there is uncontroverted evidence that respondent communicated demonstrably false and misleading statements to courts, lawmakers and the public at large in his capacity as lawyer for former President Donald J. Trump and the Trump campaign in connection with Trump’s failed effort at reelection in 2020,” the Attorney Grievance Committee said in its filing.

“These false statements were made to improperly bolster respondent’s narrative that due to widespread voter fraud, victory in the 2020 United States presidential election was stolen from his client. We conclude that respondent’s conduct immediately threatens the public interest and warrants interim suspension from the practice of law, pending further proceedings before the Attorney Grievance Committee.”

In January, shortly after the Capitol riot, State Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Brad Hoylman released a statement urging the grievance committee of the Appellate Division to disbar Giuliani after the horrifying events of the insurrection.

“I will be filing a formal complaint with the Appellate Division of the Unified Court System asking them to consider revoking Rudy Giuliani’s license to practice law in New York due to rampant and egregious violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct related to his participation in a scheme to unlawfully overturn the results of a free and fair election and his complicity in inflaming a violent coup attempt in our seat of federal government,” Holyman said.

Separately, the New York Bar Association launched an investigation into former President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer after receiving hundreds of complaints about his role in the Capitol riot.

In a statement in January, NYSBA blamed the mob on Trump’s repeated false claims about the results of the 2020 election—but notes that the “president did not act alone.”

“Hours before the angry mob stormed the Capitol walls, Trump’s personal attorney, Rudolph Giuliani, addressed a crowd of thousands at the White House, reiterating baseless claims of widespread election fraud in the presidential election and the Georgia U.S. Senate runoffs,” the association, which counts 24,000 lawyers among its members, said.

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At the rally near the White House just before the Capitol attack, the former New York City mayor repeated the baseless claims about election fraud, insisting, “If we’re wrong, we will be made fools of, but if we’re right a lot of them will go to jail. Let’s have trial by combat.”

The statement was not only shocking, the NYSBA said, but also a direct violation of its bylaws, which state that “no person who advocates the overthrow of the government of the United States, or of any state, territory or possession thereof, or of any political subdivision therein, by force or other illegal means, shall be a member of the Association.”

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