A group of prominent lawyers has asked New York’s judiciary to suspend Rudy Giuliani’s law licence for making false claims in post-election lawsuits and urging Donald Trump’s supporters to engage in “trial by combat” shortly before they stormed the US Capitol.
Lawyers Defending American Democracy is also calling for investigation of Giuliani, who served as a federal prosecutor and a New York City mayor before Trump hired him as personal attorney.
“This complaint is about law, not politics,” said their letter to the attorney grievance committee for the New York supreme court. It was signed by more than 40 lawyers.
Giuliani did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Attorneys not affiliated with the group, including a lawyer who defends other lawyers from ethics complaints, said the letter could have serious consequences for Giuliani.
The grievance committee, part of New York state’s judiciary, has the power to censure and suspend lawyers and revoke their law licences.
Giuliani led the legal team that tried to overturn Trump’s election defeat but failed to produce any evidence of widespread fraud. The team lost dozens of court cases in battleground states and at the supreme court, and Joe Biden’s victory was confirmed.
Criticisms of Giuliani escalated after the deadly 6 January attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob. Shortly beforehand Trump told supporters to “fight like hell”. The letter to the disciplinary body cited Giuliani’s call at the same time for “trial by combat” and his false claims in court and in public of widespread voter fraud.
Attorney suspensions and disbarments were very unusual, said Brian Faughnan, a lawyer in Tennessee who defends other lawyers in ethics matters. But the letter laid out strong evidence against Giuliani and he may face a public reprimand.
“If I got a complaint like that on behalf of a client, I would be worried,” he said.
Attorney disciplinary bodies typically did not publicly announce an investigation but would reveal any punishments they handed down, Faughnan said.