A New York appellate court has suspended Rudy Giuliani from practicing law in the state because of “demonstrably false and misleading” statements he made about the 2020 election while serving as Donald Trump's personal attorney.
The court writes that Giuliani made false statements "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 the ruling, which you can read in full here, the court identifies at least eight instances of Giuliani making blatantly false statements, including when Giuliani claimed (on at least five occasions) that "more absentee ballots came in during the election than were sent out before the election" in Pennsylvania, as well as multiple other election misstatements and false claims regarding fraud, mail-in ballots and claims that dead people "voted" in Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona.
Giuliani served as one of the main mouthpieces for Trump in the days after the election, flying to various states around the country claiming without evidence that votes had been rigged and fraud had been committed. The apex of this campaign came when he gave a press conference in the parking lot of a Philadelphia landscaping company, next to an adult bookstore, across the street from a crematorium.
While in front of the court last November arguing that his client, Trump, was pursuing a fraud claim based on "withdrawn canvassing claims," Giuliani told the court, “I don’t know what’s more serious than being denied your right to vote in a democracy.” In their ruling today, the court responded to that statement: "We agree. 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."
Giuliani will face disciplinary proceedings, but can fight the suspension. However, the court added, "We find that there is evidence of continuing misconduct, the underlying offense is incredibly serious, and the uncontroverted misconduct in itself will likely result in substantial permanent sanctions at the conclusion of these disciplinary proceedings."
Giuliani’s lawyers, John Leventhal and Barry Kamins, said in a statement, “This is unprecedented as we believe that our client does not pose a present danger to the public interest. 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 that he has served so well in his many capacities for so many years.”
Giuliani's son Andrew, who is running for governor of New York in 2022, posted a video statement—from a parking lot—claiming the ruling was a political hit job on his daddy.
"This is just unbelievable to see how politicized all this has become," he shouted at the camera. "I'm infuriated by all this, and any American that believes in an independent justice system, this is going after one of President Trump's closest allies, and any American who doesn't believe that is just biased. This is unacceptable, and I stand by my father. He did everything ultimately by the book."
Giuliani had been under federal investigation for his business dealings in Ukraine while he served as Trump's attorney. The investigation involves whether he “illegally lobbied the Trump administration on behalf of Ukrainian officials and oligarchs in 2019,” the Daily Beast reported. He allegedly pressed Ukrainian officials to investigate President Joe Biden and his son Hunter in an attempt to smear them before the election.
In April, federal investigators executed search warrants on Giuliani’s Upper East Side apartment and his Manhattan office as part of that investigation.
