The office that oversees attorney ethics in Washington D.C. instituted disciplinary proceedings against Rudy Giuliani on Friday relating to his assertions that the 2020 presidential election in Pennsylvania was fraudulent.
The proceedings relate to two charges. Per one charge, Giuliani brought a proceeding “without a non-frivolous basis in law.” Per the other, he “engaged in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice.”
The D.C. Court of Appeal’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel opened an investigation into Giuliani in July 2021, suspending his law license for the duration of the probe.
The probe examined a lawsuit that Giuliani brought on the Trump campaign’s behalf against the Pennsylvania secretary of state, saying that the state had erred in many ways in conducting the election, while seeking a remedy that would have included the mass invalidation of certain categories of ballots.
The investigation found that there was no basis for the claims that Giuliani made in filing the lawsuit.
“There was no legal basis for Respondent’s contention that there is a fundamental right for campaign representatives to observe the tabulation of mail-in ballots, much less that they be permitted to do so within some minimum distance, and hence no basis for a substantive due process claim,” the charging document reads, referring to one of the claims that Giuliani made.
The Court of Appeals’ Board on Professional Responsibility will now hear the matter, and will determine whether Giuliani violated attorney ethics rules and impose any punishment.
Correction: This story has been updated to accurately describe the disciplinary process, which is conducted under the purview of the DC Court of Appeals, not the DC Bar.
Read the charges here:
