The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) said Monday it was launching an inquiry into whether Rudy Giuliani should be removed from its organization.
The group said it was looking at comments President Trump’s personal attorney, who has been accused of helping to fuel the mob that attacked the Capitol last week with false conspiracy theories about the presidential election, made just before that incident.
“NYSBA has received hundreds of complaints in recent months about Mr. Giuliani and his baseless efforts on behalf of President Trump to cast doubt on the veracity of the 2020 presidential election and, after the votes were cast, to overturn its legitimate results,” the organization said in a statement.
“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 move would not disbar Giuliani, something the group does not have the power to do.
“We do not have the ability to disbar him. Only the state court system can do that in New York State. He would still be able to practice law without NYSBA membership,” it said.
Before the pro-Trump rioters broke into the Capitol, Giuliani spoke to the gathered crowd, saying, “Let’s have trial by combat!”
According to its statement, the NYSBA’s bylaws state “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.”
The Hill has reached out to Giuliani for a response.
Since the storming of the Capitol, Giuliani has claimed that the incident was carried out by the left-wing antifa movement, even though federal officials have said there is no evidence for this.
The people attacking the Capitol were waving pro-Trump flags, wearing “MAGA” hats and carrying pro-Trump signs. Many of those who have since been arrested are figures associated with the QAnon conspiracy theory.