NEW YORK: A New York court suspended Rudy Giuliani’s law licence on Thursday for claiming that Donald Trump lost last year’s presidential election because of fraud.

A court ruled that Giuliani made “demonstrably false and misleading statements” as Trump’s lawyer during the ex-president’s attempt to overturn his defeat to Joe Biden.

Giuliani, 77, helped the Trump campaign file numerous lawsuits in several states alleging without evidence that the Democratic Party had rigged the election.

“These false statements were made to improperly bolster respondent’s narrative that due to widespread voter fraud, victory in the 2020 United States presidential election was stolen from his client,” the appellate court wrote in a 33-page ruling.

The court added that Giuliani’s conduct “immediately threatens the public interest and warrants interim suspension from the practice of law”.

The request to remove his licence was filed by prominent lawyers who said they were acting to defend American democracy.

Giuliani can challenge the decision. However, the ruling noted that at the end of the proceedings he will likely face “substantial permanent sanctions”.

The suspension is remarkable for the fact Giuliani once served as the attorney for the southern district of New York, one of the top prosecutor jobs in the United States.

He was also mayor of New York City for eight years, earning national acclaim for leading the financial capital in the aftermath of the Sept 11, 2001, attacks.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2021