Rudy Giuliani’s DC law license is suspended

WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia’s highest court on Wednesday suspended Rudy Giuliani from practicing law in Washington, pending a disciplinary proceeding in New York.

The suspension by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals was triggered automatically by Giuliani’s suspension last month from practicing law in the state of New York.

When he was suspended Wednesday, Giuliani was an inactive member of the District of Columbia bar in good standing, according to bar records.

Giuliani’s license to practice law in New York was suspended June 25 in a ruling that cited his “false and misleading statements” about the election loss of former President Donald Trump.

The suspension in New York is temporary, pending the outcome of a full formal disciplinary hearing.

Giuliani is a former New York mayor who was once a top Justice Department official and U.S. attorney in Manhattan.

His reciprocal suspension in Washington also comes as Giuliani is under criminal investigation by that same federal agency in connection with his work in Ukraine.

Giuliani’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, did not immediately return a request for comment Wednesday from CNBC.

Since Trump’s defeat in November, the former president and his lawyer have made false claims about the legitimacy of President Joe Biden‘s victory. They allege, without evidence, that Trump was swindled out of a victory by widespread ballot fraud in key states.

Giuliani’s false statements about voting in Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania — all states that Biden won — were cited in the scathing, 33-page suspension order issued by a five-judge panel of the Appellate Division of the First Judicial Department of New York state Supreme Court on June 25.

That department encompasses the Bronx as well as Manhattan, where Giuliani’s law office is located.