Giuliani’s Law License Is Suspended Over Trump Election Lies

At least three ethics complaints had been publicly filed against Mr Giuliani, including one earlier this year by a group of prominent lawyers accusing him of abusing the judicial system to undermine democracy. It is not known what, if any, lawsuit sparked the New York court investigation.

Mr. Giuliani is also admitted to the bar in Washington, DC, and the New York decision could trigger disciplinary proceedings there, although it is not automatic.

It is rare for the court to temporarily suspend attorneys for unethical public statements, such as lawyers specializing in disciplinary proceedings, and it is more common in cases where attorneys are accused of stealing money from clients.

The practical implications of the decision were not clear. Although Mr Giuliani started his own law firm in 2019, it has been decades since he regularly argued in court. Before Mr. Giuliani became Mr. Trump’s attorney, he ran his own security advisory firm. More recently, he has hosted a radio show and appeared in cigar advertisements.

Still, the suspension marked another impressive chapter in the rise and fall of Mr Giuliani, once a legal and political star. He had almost achieved hero status as New York City Mayor led the city through the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Before that, he was a die-hard prosecutor known for fighting organized crime and corrupt politicians. But now he is under investigation by the US Attorney’s Office in Manhattan, the same firm he once ran, and threatens to be banned from the legal profession in which he has worked for more than five decades.

The federal investigation into Mr Giuliani focuses on his business in Ukraine ahead of the 2020 elections as he attempted to damage President Biden’s credibility. In April, FBI agents seized Mr. Giuliani’s cell phones and computers in an exceptional measure against a former president’s attorney.