On Friday, the District of Columbia office that investigates attorneys for ethical misconduct filed charges against President Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, for making false assertions in federal court that the 2020 presidential election was rigged.
Giuliani, a member of the D.C. bar, is accused of making false representations in federal court documents about the results of the 2020 presidential election in Pennsylvania, according to the D.C. Office of Disciplinary Counsel.
The allegations come a day after the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol held its first prime-time hearing, laying out evidence that Trump and his allies attempted to rig the 2020 election and incite throngs of his supporters to prevent Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s victory.
Former Manhattan U.S. Attorney and New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani have been one of Trump’s most ardent supporters, claiming repeatedly that the election was rigged without evidence.
The latest ethical allegations stem from a series of legal challenges Rudy Giuliani filed in federal court in Pennsylvania in 2020. The allegations were filed with the Court of Appeals Board on Professional Responsibility of the District of Columbia.
According to the complaint, Rudy Giuliani requested an emergency order barring the presidential election from being certified, an order invalidating ballots cast by certain voters in seven counties, and other measures permitting the Pennsylvania legislature to choose electors and declare Trump the winner.
According to the allegations, his actions were in violation of two Pennsylvania professional conduct regulations that prohibit attorneys from bringing frivolous lawsuits without a legal or factual foundation and behavior that is adverse to the administration of justice.
Implications Of The Charges For Rudy Giuliani
Charges can result in a lawyer’s license being suspended or being barred from practicing law. This is the second time Giuliani has been charged by a bar association.
After a state appeals court concluded that he made “demonstrably false and misleading” comments about widespread voter fraud undermining the election, his New York law license was suspended in June 2021.
After the New York decision, Giuliani’s DC law license was temporarily suspended. Apart from having two of his law licenses canceled, Giuliani’s reputation has been tarnished by his business activities with Ukraine, for which he is being investigated by federal prosecutors in Manhattan.
In April 2018, he began representing Trump, a fellow Republican, and New Yorker, in connection with then-Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election meddling in 2016. Giuliani has not been charged with any misconduct in the criminal justice system. His attorney has claimed that the government investigation is politically motivated.
