Trump’s ex-lawyer Rudy Giuliani suspended from practising law in New York

Rudy Giuliani, formerly a personal lawyer to former US president
Donald Trump, has been temporarily suspended
from practising law in the state of New York for making “false and misleading
statements”.

In a ruling
released on Thursday, a New York appellate court said that there is “uncontroverted
evidence” that Giuliani “communicated demonstrably false and misleading
statements to courts, lawmakers and the public at large in his capacity as
lawyer for former President Donald J. Trump and the Trump campaign in
connection with Trump’s failed effort at reelection in 2020,” CNN reported. 

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This comes as a major setback for the former mayor of New York City. Lawyers for Giuliani, who is also a former prosecutor for New York’s Southern District, said they were “disappointed” in the court’s verdict.

In a statement released on Thursday, they said the decision to suspend Giuliani “prior to being afforded a hearing on the issues that are alleged” was “unprecedented”. 

They added in the statement that they Giuliani “does not pose a present danger to the public interest. We believe that once the issues are fully explored at a hearing Mr. Giuliani will be reinstated as a valued member of the legal profession that he has served so well in his many capacities for so many years.” 

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Giuliani is currently facing a defamation lawsuit from the vote management company Dominion Voting Systems, which handled the 2020 Presidential Election. The firm is suing the 77-year-old and others for statements made alleging election fraud. 

Giuliani, or his team of lawyers, is set to appear in a Washington DC court in for a hearing on Thursday.