PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Rudy Giuliani’s law license has been suspended by a New York appellate court, which said he made “demonstrably false” statements on behalf of Donald Trump after the election. Many of those statements were made about Pennsylvania’s election.
The ruling says Guiliani’s conduct threatens public interest and warrants interim suspension.
Villanova University law professor Doris Brogan said most people don’t realize there are rules that say a lawyer cannot lie or knowingly make a false statement while representing a client.
“I think understanding that, you understand that it’s not ‘anything goes’ in the world that lawyers live in,” she said.
The decision points to several statements Giuilani made about the election in Pennsylvania — which have all been proven false — for instance, claiming thousands of dead people voted in Philadelphia and more mail-in ballots were counted than were actually sent out.
Despite proof, the ruling says, Giuliani continued to repeat these statements.
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The decision also points to a federal court hearing in Pennsylvania, saying Giuliani intentionally mispresented the case as a fraud case even though it was about equal protections.
Brogan said Giuliani could try to argue that was a mistake and not intentional.
“The fact that he then continued after admiting there was no fraud claim, saying there was a fraud claim, then admitting there was no fraud claim, being corrected by the judge and his co-counsel, then continuing to talk about the fraud — that is, well, a little hard to reconcile,” she said.
Brogan noted disciplinary boards are designed to protect the public, not to punish lawyers.
“What they’re saying [is], we think serious enough to suspend before we have the full hearing,” she added.
Giuliani can appeal the suspension. After further proceedings, he could be disbarred.
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