Topline
The District of Columbia Court of Appeals suspended attorney Rudy Giuliani’s license to practice law in the district Wednesday, following New York’s recent decision to suspend the Trump lawyer over his postelection efforts to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory.
Key Facts
The New York Supreme Court issued an order “immediately suspending [Giuliani] from the practice of law” in June, saying the Trump attorney violated professional rules of conduct through his “demonstrably false and misleading statements” about the election.
The suspension, which affected Giuliani’s ability to practice law in New York, isn’t a permanent ban and Giuliani still has the opportunity to make a case for the license to be reinstated.
The D.C. court said in an order they had suspended Giuliani’s ability to practice law in the District of Columbia after considering the New York ruling, but did not cite any other reasons for the suspension.
While the D.C. court’s decision is also a temporary suspension pending more formal proceedings, those proceedings are paused until the issue of Giuliani’s New York license is resolved.
Giuliani’s attorneys have not yet responded to a request for comment on the suspension.
What To Watch For
Giuliani will be able to contest his New York suspension at a disciplinary hearing, which will allow the attorney to make his case and will determine whether his license is restored or permanently revoked. The Attorney Grievance Committee in New York predicted Giuliani should expect an unfavorable outcome, however, writing in their ruling that the attorney’s alleged misconduct “will likely result in substantial permanent sanctions at the conclusion of these disciplinary proceedings.”
Crucial Quote
In a postelection case in Pennsylvania, Giuliani “himself stated: ‘I don’t know what’s more serious than being denied your right to vote in a democracy.’ We agree,” the Attorney Grievance Committee for the First Judicial Department at the New York Supreme Court wrote in their ruling suspending Giuliani’s New York license. “It is the very reason why espousing false factual information to large segments of the public as a means of discrediting the rights of legitimate voters is so immediately harmful to it and warrants interim suspension from the practice of law.”
Chief Critic
In a statement after his New York license was suspended, Giuliani’s attorneys said the ruling against the former New York City mayor was “unprecedented” and they are “disappointed” with the court’s decision. “We believe that once the issues are fully explored at a hearing Mr. Giuliani will be reinstated as a valued member of the legal profession,” the lawyers said.
Key Background
Giuliani led the Trump campaign’s postelection legal efforts challenging the results, which were ultimately unsuccessful and resulted in more than 60 failed court cases. Giuliani only personally represented the campaign in court in one Pennsylvania lawsuit—which failed in both district and appeals courts—at which he contradicted his public statements about the lawsuit by acknowledging during a hearing that the case was “not a fraud case.” The New York Supreme Court cited that lawsuit as contributing to his suspension, noting his “mischaracterization of the case” and conflicting statements about whether he was alleging voter fraud. In addition to his law license suspensions, Giuliani is facing multiple billion-dollar lawsuits from voting companies Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic over his postelection fraud claims, as well as two lawsuits brought by members of Congress over his alleged role in inspiring the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol building. He is also being separately under federal investigation for potentially violating foreign lobbying laws in Ukraine and, reportedly, Turkey.