The New York Supreme Court suspended former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani’s law license Thursday for making false claims of voter fraud on behalf of the Trump campaign in the 2020 presidential election.
The New York Supreme Court Appellate Division’s grievance committee submitted a summary of disciplinary proceedings on Thursday, citing multiple attorney infractions and professional conduct rule violations.
The court ruled there is “uncontroverted evidence” that the attorney made knowingly erroneous statements while serving on the Trump legal team.
“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,” the court decision said.
Following the Capitol Riot in January, New York state Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Brad Hoylman published a document insisting the grievance committee of the Appellate Division pursue penal action against Giuliani and disbar him for his role with the Trump campaign, which was accused of inciting the uprising.
“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.
The New York Bar Association (NYSBA) also initiated an independent probe into Giuliani in response to public pressure and allegations that he contributed to fueling the insurrection. The NYSBA wrote in a statement after the January unrest that Trump “did not act alone,” insinuating that other players such as the former Trump lawyer were involved.
During the rally preceding the storming of the Capitol, Giuliani said to the crowd of his assertions of election fraud: “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 NYSBA subsequently argued that Giuliani’s comments constituted a threat to overthrow the sitting U.S. government, which directly violates its bylaws.
Giuliani is also currently being investigated for to his activities in Ukraine during the 2020 election cycle. Federal agents recently executed a search warrant to seize electronics and evidence from his NYC apartment.