Dozens of prominent lawyers have signed a formal complaint requesting the suspension of Rudolph W. Giuliani’s bar license – the latest and loudest in a series of calls to reprimand him for his actions as President Donald J. Trump’s personal attorney.
The lawyers said Mr Giuliani crossed ethical boundaries in helping Mr Trump prosecute false allegations of election fraud and then delivered an incendiary speech reiterating those claims just before the January 6 uprising at the Capitol.
A draft complaint to the New York Supreme Court Appeals Committee accuses Mr. Giuliani of knowingly making false allegations about the election and calls for an investigation into “conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deception or misrepresentation in or outside the court” .
Demands for Mr. Giuliani to be disciplined have increased in the weeks since the uprising and are only increasing now after Mr. Trump stepped down. The latest complaint, signed by a non-partisan who-is-who of legal figures from New York and beyond, is possibly the most serious condemnation of Mr Giuliani’s conduct to date.
The list included former acting US attorney general Stuart M. Gerson, former US district judges H. Lee Sarokin and Fern M. Smith, and two former attorneys general, Scott Harshbarger of Massachusetts and Grant Woods of Arizona. The complaint was also signed by prosecutors working for the same United States law firm for the Southern District of New York that Mr. Giuliani ran in the 1980s, including Christine H. Chung.
Ms. Chung, a member of the steering committee of Lawyers Defending American Democracy, the organization that made the complaint, said the group had reviewed Mr. Giuliani’s work on behalf of Mr. Trump and that it was a “targeted campaign for the going.” with a lie about a stolen election from the American people. “
“This is a man who once ran the highest law enforcement agency in this nation and he knows what is fraud and what is not,” said Ms. Chung, who did not work for the US law firm during Mr. Giuliani’s tenure. She added, “It is forbidden for a lawyer to attack the rule of law and it is dangerous.”
Ms. Chung said that by Thursday afternoon, more than 500 people had signed the complaint, which anyone could sign on the Lawyers Defending American Democracy website, and that she expected “thousands” more to add their names.
The complaint seeking the suspension of Mr Giuliani’s admission to exercise his right during an investigation into his conduct is one of several complaints that have been lodged with the Board of Appeal. It comes a week after New York Senator Brad Hoylman, chairman of the judiciary committee, urged the state judicial system to begin the formal process of revoking Mr. Giuliani’s legal license.
It could take months or even years to conduct the investigation and determine an appropriate sentence, largely due to procedural hurdles and the complexity of Mr Giuliani’s case, said Stephen Gillers, a law professor at New York University and an expert in legal ethics.
Mr Gillers said he hoped the court would conduct a thorough investigation suspending Mr Giuliani’s license as Mr Giuliani used his reputation as a lawyer to spread false accounts.
“It is a privilege and an honor to be a New York attorney, and in investigating Giuliani and possibly sanctioning him for his behavior, the courts are reiterating that fact,” Gillers said.
Mr Giuliani, who did not respond to requests for comment, discussed the complaints about his behavior on his radio show last week.
“I’ve been a prosecutor all my life – I’m not stupid,” he said. “I don’t want to get in trouble. And personally, I have a great sense of ethics. I hate it when people attack my integrity. “
In the weeks since the insurrection, Mr Giuliani also redoubled his allegations of electoral fraud, arguing on conservative talk radio and social media that the masses indicting the Capitol were left-wing radicals who were involved in a conspiracy around him and To discredit Mr. Trump.
The numerous demands for disciplinary action underscore the extent to which Mr Giuliani’s reputation has grown since his years as Federal Prosecutor for Organized Crime and his two terms as Mayor of New York City, during which he advocated law enforcement and emphasized cleaning, has changed the streets.
At Mr Trump’s rally on Jan. 6, not long before a violent mob stormed the Capitol, Mr Giuliani called for a “trial by battle” to address his discredited allegations of electoral fraud.
“I am ready to maintain my reputation, the president is ready to strengthen his reputation because we will find crime there,” said Giuliani.
In the complaint, Mr Giuliani is accused of holding on to his false allegations of widespread electoral fraud only on January 16, thereby sacrificing his reputation.
“Other lawyers have met ethical obligations by withdrawing from representing Mr Trump and his campaign,” the complaint said. “Mr. Giuliani not only gave the company his stature and attorney status, but he also shows no inclination to stop lying.”
Earlier this week, a person close to Mr Trump said Mr Giuliani would not be part of Mr Trump’s defense during his second Senate impeachment trial.
