President Donald Trump’s attorney and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks to reporters outside the western wing of the White House on July 1, 2020 in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images
The New York State Bar Association said Monday it was launching an investigation into whether it would revoke the membership of President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani for his violent rhetoric at a rally for the president. before the Capitol revolt also last week. like other actions.
The advocacy group said in a statement that the blame for the uproar of thousands of supporters of the president “is mostly Trump”, who has continued to make false claims about his electoral loss to President-elect Joe Biden.
“But the president did not act alone,” the bar association noted.
“Hours before the angry mob stormed the walls of the Capitol, Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudolph Giuliani, addressed a crowd of thousands in the White House, reiterating unfounded allegations of widespread electoral fraud in the presidential election and the runoff of the United States Senate of Georgia “.
At the rally near the White House shortly before the uprising, Giuliani had said, “If we are wrong, they will make us fools, but if we are right, many of them will go to jail.”
“We are going to trial for combat,” said Giuliani, a former mayor of New York City, a former U.S. attorney for Manhattan and a former top Justice Department official.
The Bar Association noted that its statutes stated that “no person defending the overthrow of the United States government, or any state, territory or possession thereof, or any political subdivision therein, for force or other illegal means, shall be a member of the Association “.
And the group said, “Mr. Giuliani’s words were clearly intended to encourage Trump supporters dissatisfied with the election result to take matters into their own hands.”
“Their subsequent attack on the Capitol was nothing less than an attempted coup, aimed at preventing the peaceful transition of power,” said the group, which is voluntary.
Giuliani did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the group’s statement, which he considered his investigation to be “historic.” The association said it did not take its decision lightly.
If the group of lawyers fired her from its members, Giuliani would be allowed to practice law in her hometown of New York. To disqualify a lawyer, the claims committee of the State Judicial System Appeals Division must act.
The Bar Association said it has received hundreds of complaints in recent months about “Giuliani” and his baseless efforts on behalf of President Trump to question the veracity of the 2020 presidential election and, after voting to overthrow their legitimate results. “
None of these efforts, which included lawsuits, failed to invalidate a single vote for Biden over a fraud lawsuit.
The group said the investigation to expel Giuliani was based on both previous complaints and his statement shortly before the Capitol attack.
“We cannot stand idly by and allow those who seek to tear the fabric of our democracy out of control,” the association said.
“Mr. Giuliani will be provided with due process and will have the opportunity (if he so chooses) to explain and defend his words and actions,” the group said.
Giuliani could be called to defend Trump if he is accused of the riots, which left five people dead, including a Capitol police officer who was assassinated by supporters of the president.
The riot disrupted congressional confirmation of Biden’s election as the next president.