NY State Bar Association takes steps to revoke Rudy Giuliani's membership

The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) has begun an inquiry to determine whether President Donald Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani should be removed from membership in the organization.

In a news release published Monday, the NYSBA said that after receiving hundreds of complaints about Giuliani's conduct and after considering statements he made at the Jan. 6 rally in Washington D.C. that precipitated violence at the Capitol building, the organization's 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."

"The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) strongly condemned the violent uprising that occurred at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, orchestrated by individuals bent on subverting the will of the voters by disrupting the certification of the 2020 presidential election results," the Association said.

"Thankfully, Congress overcame this assault and fulfilled its constitutional responsibility in certifying the Biden-Harris victory. However, we must address the root cause of this abhorrent incident, the blame for which lies first and foremost with President Donald Trump.

"But the president did not act alone. Hours before the angry mob stormed the Capitol walls, Trump's personal attorney, Rudolph Giuliani, addressed a crowd of thousands at the White House, reiterating baseless claims of widespread election fraud in the presidential election and the Georgia U.S. Senate runoffs."

Giuliani addressed a crowd of tens of thousands of Trump supporters when he spoke at the Jan. 6 rally. He called on Congress to reject the lawfully certified results of the Electoral College and send those slates of electors back to their respective states. He claimed that the states would then be able to review the electors and over a period of 10 days to audit the election.

"Over the next 10 days, we get to see the machines that are crooked, the ballots that are fraudulent, and if we're wrong, we will be made fools of," Giuliani said. "But if we're right, a lot of them will go to jail. Let's have trial by combat."

President Trump spoke after Giuliani finished his remarks. By the time the president finished speaking, around 2:00 p.m., the gates on the east and west sides of the Capitol building were breached by rioters. Officer Brian D. Sicknick was killed in the ensuing violent altercations between the rioters and police, Ashli Babbitt was fatally shot by police, and three other persons died of unknown medical complications.

"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," the Association said.

"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.

"Mr. Giuliani will be provided due process and have an opportunity – should he so choose – to explain and defend his words and actions," it added.