Rudy Giuliani Suspended From New York Bar For Making False Statements About 2020 Election

This most recent blow to Giuliani is completely separate from the federal investigation into his dealings with Ukraine.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani makes an appearance on June 21, 2021, in support of Curtis Sliwa who won the Republican mayoral primary in New York City. | Getty Images
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani makes an appearance on June 21, 2021, in support of Curtis Sliwa who won the Republican mayoral primary in New York City. | Getty Images

A New York state court on Thursday temporarily suspended Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City and U.S. attorney for Manhattan, from practicing law in the state as a result of the numerous false narratives he pushed related to the 2020 election.

“These false statements were made to improperly bolster [Giuliani’s] narrative that due to widespread voter fraud, victory in the 2020 United States presidential election was stolen from [former President Trump],” the New York state appellate court said in a 33-page decision. The decision followed a request made by the Attorney Grievances Committee for the First Judicial Department to have Giuliani’s law license suspended before the ongoing investigation into his conduct is complete.

As Trump’s personal attorney, Giuliani used a variety of platforms to make false statements about voter fraud, including at a court appearance, on the radio, and directly to the public, in states such as Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arizona.

The court decision highlights several instances in which Giuliani told lies to paint the election as fraudulent. For example, the former mayor falsely claimed that dead people voted in Philadelphia. In one instance, Giuliani said the number of dead people who voted in Philadelphia was 8,021, and in another said that number was as high as 30,000. The court’s decision notes that Giuliani used former boxer Joe Frazier as the “anecdotal poster child” to prove his false claim that dead people voted in Philadelphia.

On that point, the court wrote: “The public records submitted on this motion unequivocally show that respondent’s statement is false. Public records show that Pennsylvania formally cancelled Mr. Frazier’s eligibility to vote on February 8, 2012, three months after he died."

The court ruled that the seriousness of Giuliani’s “misconduct cannot be overstated.”

“This country is being torn apart by continued attacks on the legitimacy of the 2020 election and of our current president, Joseph R. Biden,” the court wrote. “The hallmark of our democracy is predicated on free and fair elections. 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.”

The harm of such false statements is magnified when made by someone with authority like an attorney, the court ruled.

“One only has to look at the ongoing present public discord over the 2020 election, which erupted into violence, insurrection and death on January 6, 2021 at the U.S. Capitol, to understand the extent of the damage that can be done when the public is misled by false information about the elections,” the court wrote.

In a statement cited by various outlets, Giuliani’s lawyers, John Leventhal and Barry Kamins, said they are disappointed with the decision.

“This is unprecedented as we believe that our client does not pose a present danger to the public interest,” they said. “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."

Giuliani’s suspension is temporary, but the court wrote in its decision that “substantial permanent sanctions” will likely follow the conclusion of the investigation into Giuliani’s conduct.

Speaking to reporters outside of his apartment building Thursday, Giuliani vowed to “fight back.”

Separately, Giuliani is under federal investigation for his connections to Ukraine and the Trump team’s attempts to fabricate “dirt” on the Bidens, which was the central focus of Trump’s first impeachment trial.