New York suspends Giuliani’s law license for false testimony
New York, Jun 24 (EFE).- A New York appeals court on Thursday ordered the temporary suspension in that state of Rudy Giuliani’s law license after a disciplinary board concluded that the former New York City mayor and personal attorney for ex-President Donald Trump lied about alleged fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
According to the court, “These false statements were made to improperly bolster respondent’s narrative that due to widespread voter fraud, victory in the 2020 United States presidential election was stolen from his client.”
The court further ruled that “We conclude that respondent’s conduct immediately threatens the public interest and warrants interim suspension from the practice of law, pending further proceedings before the Attorney Grievance Committee.”
The court document says that there is evidence that Giuliani made “demonstrably false and misleading statements to courts, lawmakers and the public at large” in his capacity as an attorney for Trump and the Trump campaign regarding the ex-president’s failed attempt to win reelection.
Months before the November 2020 presidential election, which Democratic candidate Joe Biden won, Trump launched a preemptive disinformation campaign to raise doubts about the transparency of the process and, later, redoubled his efforts to the max by calling the election fraudulent and claiming that Biden had “stolen” the presidency from him.
However, beyond the public relations campaign, which he is pursuing to this day, Trump and his team have not managed to provide any proof to back up the claims and no court has agreed to bring to trial cases involving the accusations precisely because of lack of evidence.
The former president lambasted the court’s decision and, very much in line with his past rhetoric, called it a “witch hunt” against Giuliani by the “radical left,” asking “Can you believe New York wants to strip Rudy Giuliani, a great American Patriot, of his law license because he is fighting what has already been proven to be a Fraudulent Election?”
In a brief statement, Trump called Giuliani the best mayor New York has ever had and one of the people who has best combatted crime in the US.
Giuliani, 77, began practicing law in 1969, worked in the US Department of Justice during the Ronald Reagan administration and, in 1983, was appointed the top federal prosecutor for the Manhattan district.
In addition, he served as New York City mayor from 1994-2002 and gained national and international fame in 2001 after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that destroyed the Twin Towers.
Giuliani has been under investigation since at least 2019 in a case allegedly focusing on his business dealings in Ukraine.
Although so far he has not been indicted, prosecutors are trying to gather evidence that he illegally pressured the US government in favor of Ukrainian officials and businessmen who, allegedly, helped him look for corruption involving Trump’s political rivals, including Biden, then a presidential hopeful.
Recently, the legal battle has focused on documents and data from digital devices seized from Giuliani by the FBI, which last April raided his home, although so far he has denied any and all alleged irregularities in his conduct or dealings.
