Hearing on stripping Rudy Giuliani’s D.C. law license set for October
Hearing on stripping Rudy Giuliani’s D.C. law license set for October
The panel declined to accommodate the embattled Trump lawyer’s request to continue to host his radio show during proceedings.
Rudy Giuliani’s right to practice law in New York was suspended by a court there in June 2021. | Joshua Roberts/Getty Images
08/04/2022 12:17 PM EDT
A Washington, D.C. attorney discipline panel has set a hearing for October on charges that Rudy Giuliani violated attorney ethics rules during litigation related to the 2020 election.
At a scheduling session Thursday, D.C. Bar Board of Professional Responsibility hearing committee chair Robert Bernius said he’s planning to open the hearing Oct. 24 and has set aside two weeks for the proceeding, although a bar official pressing the ethics complaint against Giuliani said the case challenging his D.C. law license should take only two days to present.
However, Bernius turned down a request from Giuliani’s attorneys to truncate the proceedings each day to allow the former New York mayor and federal prosecutor to host his daily radio talk show on WABC-AM. Giuliani’s team said the radio show is currently his only source of income since his right to practice law in New York was suspended by a court there in June 2021.
Bernius, a litigator with the D.C. office of Nixon Peabody, said cutting off the hearing at 2 P.M. each day to allow Giuliani to host his 3 P.M. show would prolong the overall length of the bar proceeding and pose challenges for the court reporters who transcribe the sessions.
Last month, the D.C. Bar’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel brought formal ethics charges against Giuliani over his handling of an unsuccessful federal court challenge in Pennsylvania shortly after the 2020 presidential election. The complaint said Giuliani lacked evidence to support his claims of fraud in the presidential contest there and that his handling of the matter interfered with the administration of justice.
Chief Disciplina
