Rudy Giuliani under threat of being stripped of his D.C. law license after preliminary finding

Former Donald Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani could lose his license to practice law in the nation’s capital over his decision to file a lawsuit in Pennsylvania that was thrown out of court amid Trump’s effort to quash the election.

A subcommittee of the DC Bar Association’s Board on Professional Responsibility issued its preliminary finding against Giuliani on Thursday, in a move that carries both professional humiliation and a ban on representing clients here for a living.

It was a steep fall for the ‘America’s mayor’, who established a lucrative legal and consulting business after guiding New York through the 9/11 attacks. DC Bar Chief Prosecutor Hamilton ‘Phil’ Fox III criticized Giuliani’s conduct while advocating for his disbarment.

The setback for Giuliani came a day Trump’s hyped “major announcement” turned out to be a $99 pack of superhero playing cards, while mega-donor Peter Thiel, speaking at Trump’s 2016 convention, criticized the “disastrous” and “depressing” elections. results in November.

“What Mr. Giuliani did was use his law license to undermine the legitimacy of a presidential election, undermine the basic premise of the democratic system in which we all live, which has existed since the 19th century in this country,” Fox said.

Panel chairman Robert C. Bernius called the finding “preliminary and non-binding,” with any discipline yet to be decided.

During Giuliani’s hearing last week, Fox accused him of trying to arm his office with unsubstantiated claims, which came as several Trump allies sought to challenge the election results in court, with some Trump allies calling for delays. of the electoral vote count to gather more information about fraud allegations.

Giuliani’s November 2020 lawsuit sought to prevent vote certification reflecting 7 million ballots cast in Pennsylvania by citing alleged fraud claims in court documents. He “used his attorney’s license as a weapon to bring a frivolous action in an attempt to undermine the Constitution,” Fox said.

Lawyers are required to be truthful in their communications with the court.

Although he denied any wrongdoing at last week’s hearing, Bernius accused Giuliani of misconduct that he said cannot be tolerated.

“Certainly going forward, any lawyer who engages in this type of misconduct, damaging the country, as he has done, should at least realize that his lawyer’s license is at risk,” Fox said. law and crime informed. He said he couldn’t “think of another case that comes close to this one in terms of the seriousness of the misconduct.”

Giuliani’s New York law license was suspended last year after a state appeals court found he had made “patently false and misleading” statements about voter fraud.

Giuliani faces multiple legal challenges with his ability to practice law on the line. He is also being sued by Dominion Voting Systems. He was in court in New York earlier this week in a nasty divorce case with his ex-wife Judith, who claims she still owes him more than $100,000, though a judge supervising the case put the figure for now at $14,000. Judith’s lawyer says a recent check for $30,000 from Giuliani bounced.

US District Court Judge Matthew Brann, who dismissed the case that would have disenfranchised 7 million in 2020, wrote at the time: “One might expect that in seeking such a startling result, a plaintiff would come formidably armed with compelling legal arguments and factual facts”. proof of rampant corruption… That has not happened.’