The false statements were made to bolster the “narrative that due to widespread voter fraud, victory in the 2020 United States presidential election was stolen from his client,” then-President
It’s the latest blow to the 77-year-old former New York mayor, who was admitted to the bar in 1969 and once stood atop the Manhattan legal community as chief federal prosecutor and as a partner at several large law firms. His home and office were raided by the FBI in April as part of a federal criminal investigation.
Giuliani had faced several calls for disbarment following his election-fraud claims and the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Though suspension is short of disbarment, the court said disciplinary proceedings were ongoing and could lead to further sanctions. But the court said Giuliani’s conduct required an immediate response.
His “conduct immediately threatens the public interest and warrants interim suspension from the practice of law,” the Appellate Division, First Department, said in its 33-page ruling. “This country is being torn apart by continued attacks on the legitimacy of the 2020 election and of our current president,
“This is unprecedented as we believe that our client does not pose a present danger to the public interest,” the lawyers, both former New York state judges, said in a statement. “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.”
The suspension comes at a time when Giuliani is being investigated by the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office, which he led in the 1980s, for possibly illegally lobbying the Trump administration on behalf of Ukrainian interests who sought the ouster of then-U.S. Ambassador
Giuliani, who openly sought information in Ukraine that could damage Biden in the run-up to the 2020 election, has denied acting for anyone in that county, saying he was only representing Trump as a lawyer.
The appeals court that suspended Giuliani rejected his argument that his statements were merely opinions and the disciplinary action violated his free-speech rights. The panel cited false statements of the fact made by Giuliani, including his claim that Pennsylvania processed more absentee ballots for the election than it sent out.
‘Uncontroverted Misconduct’
“This factual statement regarding the number of ballots mailed out before the election was simply untrue,” the panel said. “The true facts are that 3.08 million absentee ballots were mailed out before the general election, which more than accounted for the over 2.5 million mail-in ballots that were actually tallied.”
Giuliani “repeatedly advanced false statements that there were 600,000 to 700,000 fabricated mail-in ballots, which were never sent to voters in advance of the election,” the court said.
“The seriousness of respondent’s uncontroverted misconduct cannot be overstated,” the panel wrote. “False statements intended to foment a loss of confidence in our elections and resulting loss of confidence in government generally damage the proper functioning of a free society. When those false statements are made by an attorney, it also erodes the public’s confidence in the integrity of attorneys.”
The court said the suspension will remain in place until disciplinary matters have been concluded and another issue is ordered. As part of the suspension, Giuliani is not only prevented from appearing in a court as an attorney, he also can’t give anyone “an opinion as to the law or its application.”
Ronald C. Minkoff, who in January submitted one of several complaints against Giuliani to the New York Attorney Grievance Committee on behalf of several lawyers’ groups and attorneys, called the ruling a “once-in-a-generation decision.”
It’s “hugely important” for the profession because it says that lawyers have to act honestly at all times, “perhaps especially in matters of great political import,” said Minkoff, who is chair of
New York University legal ethics professor
Trump slammed the decision, calling Giuliani a “great American patriot” who is fighting what the ex-president falsely says was “fraudulent election.”
“The greatest Mayor in the history of New York City, the Eliot Ness of his generation, one of the greatest crime fighters our Country has ever known, and this is what the Radical Left does to him,” Trump said in a statement.
Mob Prosecutor
The suspension is a striking development for a lawyer of Giuliani’s prominence. Before he was elected mayor in 1993, Giuliani was famous as the hard-charging Manhattan U.S. attorney who prosecuted 1980s insider traders like
His leadership of the city during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks made him “America’s Mayor” and made him hot commodity in the legal profession. In 2005, he made a lucrative deal with the Texas law firm
Giuliani’s growing association with Trump estranged him further from the legal community though. He resigned from his last major firm,
He made his first courtroom
“This Court has been presented with strained legal arguments without merit and speculative accusations, unpled in the operative complaint and unsupported by evidence,” Brann wrote. “In the United States of America, this cannot justify the disenfranchisement of a single voter, let alone all the voters of its sixth most populated state. Our people, laws, and institutions demand more.”
(Updates with comment by Trump, Stephen Gillers and Ronald Minkoff.)
--With assistance from
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