Ex-Trump Lawyer Giuliani Suspended From Practicing Law in NY over ’False Statements’

By Staff, Agencies

New York State suspended Rudy Giuliani's license to practice law on Thursday over the "false statements" he made in his capacity as President Trump's lawyer in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.

"For reasons that follow, we conclude that there is uncontroverted evidence that [Giuliani] 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 New York Supreme Court said in a 33-page decision put out on Thursday morning.

"These false statements were made to improperly bolster [the] 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 [the] 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 statement added.

The court went on to list Giuliani's alleged improper activities, including his comments on the election at press conferences, legislative hearings, media appearances, and one court appearance.

Giuliani is said to have defended himself by suggesting that the AGC's probe violated his First Amendment right to free speech. The court indicated that it "rejects" this argument, however, citing a legal precedent which recognizes that "speech by an attorney is subject to greater regulation by speech by others."

The decision went on to list off the attorney's misconduct, including his comments after 3 November about a host of problems with the election, including possible mail-in ballot vote dumps, voting machine irregularities, and other suspected manipulations in then-Democratic candidate Joe Biden's favor in key battleground states including Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arizona.

The 77-year-old attorney and former New York City Mayor was central to Donald Trump's probe into suspected pay-to-play politics by Joe Biden in Ukraine during the Obama years, which itself sparked impeachment proceedings against Trump. In late 2020, the lawyer represented Trump in lawsuits to overturn the election over alleged fraud.