The Washington, D.C. Bar Association’s Committee on Professional Ethics recommended Friday that Rudy Giuliani be banned from practicing law in the nation’s capital.
In its report, the committee cited Giuliani’s work in Pennsylvania after the 2020 presidential election, in which he sought to invalidate the state’s election results in favor of his former client, Donald Trump.
“The Committee agrees with the hearing committee’s view that the disciplinary counsel established by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant violated the Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct,” the report states. “With regard to sanctions, we agree with the hearing committee’s view that the defendant should be disbarred.”
The report follows one last year in which a disciplinary committee from the Washington, D.C. Bar Association recommended that Giuliani be disbarred. The case is now before the D.C. Court of Appeals, which will decide whether Giuliani, the former New York City mayor, should be disbarred.
In a statement provided to NBC News, Giuliani spokesman Ted Goodman blamed the report’s findings on “Democratic party partisanship” and said the decision would discourage lawyers from taking on Trump as a client.
“This recommendation is not surprising as Democrats continue to destroy the credibility of our American judicial system in their efforts to defeat President Trump and remain in power,” Goodman said.
“Removing the mayor’s bar license is intended to prevent him from representing clients like President Donald Trump or anyone else willing to take on the current political establishment,” he added.
Goodman also called on “ranking members of the D.C. Bar Association, whether or not you agree with the Mayor’s policies, to speak out against this irresponsible and anti-American recommendation.”
Giuliani has already been suspended from practicing law in New York state, where a New York court ruled he made “demonstrably false and misleading statements” after the 2020 presidential election.
Jenna Ellis, a former lawyer for President Trump, has been banned from practicing law in Colorado for three years following her work for President Trump after the last election.
