Giuliani Found In Likely Violation Of Ethics Rules Ahead Of Possible Disbarment

0
613

Longtime Trump ally Rudy Giuliani has been found in likely violation of at least one rule for the conduct of lawyers registered with the Bar in D.C., according to a three-member committee that recently conducted a hearing on allegations against Rudy of violating ethics standards.

The claims against the ex-New York City mayor from the disciplinary counsel in the capital directly connect to his work on a Pennsylvania court case after the 2020 election in which the Trump team was pushing for the invalidation of hundreds of thousands of ballots cast through the state’s newly implemented universal system of mail-in voting available to all state residents. His license to practice law in D.C. has already been suspended, but after several more steps including the opportunity for the disciplinary counsel’s office to present specific recommendations for consequences for Giuliani, Rudy providing any rebuttals, and the committee settling on a report to submit to the full Board on Professional Responsibility, Giuliani could face consequences as steep as disbarment, for which a member of the disciplinary counsel’s team on the case already expressed support.

The Court of Appeals in D.C. decides on imposing discipline after decisions by the board. The three-member panel dealing with the disciplinary counsel’s claims against Rudy didn’t specify an ethics violation it tentatively believed to be proven, although inherent in a tentative finding of a violation is the possibility for some form of disciplinary action against Giuliani.

The committee’s conclusions could change as proceedings continue. Among the defenses from Giuliani was a challenge to the notion that he and his associates accepted individual claims of fraud in the last election without conducting at least some level of investigation, although that obviously wasn’t enough to change the committee’s newly revealed conclusions. An attorney for the ex-mayor also challenged Giuliani’s vulnerability to consequences in connection to the Pennsylvania case because a version of the underlying complaint that Giuliani signed was never accepted, but he participated in arguments.

Giuliani also continues facing legal vulnerability in Georgia, where he was identified as a target of the criminal investigation by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis into pro-Trump election meddling after the last presidential race. He may also be among those recommended in proceedings next week of the House committee investigating the Capitol riot for prosecution by the Justice Department.