Trump Attorney Rudy Giuliani Could Face Disbarment Following Capitol Building Riots

The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) has launched an 'historic inquiry' into Rudy Giuliani which could result in his disbarment.

Donald Trump's attorney spoke at the 'Save America' rally shortly before crowds stormed the Capitol building on Wednesday (6 January), in a riot that claimed five lives.

The 76-year-old former mayor of New York City said: "If we're wrong, we will be made fools of, but if we're right a lot of them will go to jail.

"Let's have trial by combat."

The NYSBA said it had received hundreds of complaints over recent months about Giuliani's 'baseless efforts on behalf of President Trump to cast doubt on the veracity of the 2020 presidential election'.

Now, the association has launched an inquiry into whether it should revoke his membership.

In a statement, the NYSBA said: "As the nation's largest voluntary state bar association, NYSBA has a responsibility to defend and protect the rule of law.

"Based on these complaints, and the statement Mr. Giuliani uttered shortly before the attack on the Capitol, NYSBA President Scott M. Karson has launched an inquiry pursuant to the Association's bylaws to determine whether Mr. Giuliani should be removed from the membership rolls of the Association."

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It continued: "NYSBA's bylaws state that 'no person who advocates the overthrow of the government of the United States, or of any state, territory or possession thereof, or of any political subdivision therein, by force or other illegal means, shall be a member of the Association'.

"Mr. Giuliani's words quite clearly were intended to encourage Trump supporters unhappy with the election's outcome to take matters into their own hands. Their subsequent attack on the Capitol was nothing short of an attempted coup, intended to prevent the peaceful transition of power."

The association said Giuliani would be given the opportunity to defend his words and actions.

It added: "This decision is historic for NYSBA, and we have not made it lightly. We cannot stand idly by and allow those intent on rending the fabric of our democracy to go unchecked."

Giuliani recently posted a video on YouTube in which he shared his 'assessment and analysis' on the events at the Capitol, but it was removed by the platform for violating community guidelines.

Presumably the content was similar to that which he shares on Twitter - which is mostly comprised of baseless right-wing conspiracy theories.

In one such tweet on Saturday, he shared an image of rioters scaling the walls outside the Capitol building with the caption: "You think those people climbing the wall are MAGA (Make America Great Again)? Or trained anarchist activists trying to frame Trump, as usual for crooked Democrats and press."

Topics: US News, Donald Trump, Politics

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey