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Rudy Giuliani – Ripple Effects
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Dear Friends and Supporters:
Two months ago, Lawyers Defending American Democracy filed an ethics complaint against Rudolph W. Giuliani with the Attorney Grievance Committee of the New York State courts. That complaint—the most comprehensive against Giuliani of which we are aware—was signed by over 7,600 individuals and over 3,000 lawyers from across the country, including former DOJ leaders and hundreds of federal and state prosecutors, seven former presidents of the ABA, and hundreds of law school deans and professors.
Because the Grievance Committee works confidentially, we can’t know what is being investigated or what the outcome will be.
But we do know that prominent lawyers stepped back from representing then-President Trump at his second impeachment hearing, reportedly after Trump pressed to defend himself by defending the Big Lie. We know that Giuliani is also being held to account for the Big Lie in a defamation suit brought by Dominion Voting Systems, seeking a judgment of $1.3 billion dollars. We know that Sidney Powell, who worked with Giuliani representing Trump in election litigation, has defended herself in a separate defamation suit brought by Dominion with the assertion that “no reasonable person” would have believed her claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
At the same time, and as we feared, the Big Lie lives beyond Trump’s administration. Today, a non-existent election fraud is the false justification for depriving voters—mainly voters of color—of access to the ballot box. As President Biden has said, this is simply un-American.
The fate of Giuliani’s license will be decided by the Grievance Committee. But just as we defended truth and democracy by filing the ethics complaint, we must continue to battle the effects of the Big Lie, lest that Big Lie continue to shake the foundation of our democracy. We ask you to join our efforts by signing LDAD’s latest Open Letter, which calls on leaders in the legal community—including law firms, bar associations, and law schools—to recognize the need for a 21st century Civil Rights movement to meet the real and alarming threat posed by recent legislative efforts to limit voter access.
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Finally, for those of you who might be interested, next Wednesday, April 7, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. EDT, Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law will host a panel event entitled "Trial by Combat - A Conversation on the Professional, Ethical, and Moral Obligation of Lawyers." Panelists will include Christine Chung, LDAD Steering Committee member, and Kline School of Law Professors Clare Coleman and Anil Kalhan. The Student Bar Association at the law school, and Drexel’s Faculty Senate (by a vote of 43-3), recently called for the revocation of an honorary Doctor of Laws degree conferred upon Giuliani in 2009.
The panel will use LDAD’s ethics complaint against Giuliani as a basis for discussing moral decision-making in the legal profession and the professional obligations lawyers owe to each other and society. Registration is here – free but required. Of note, Lehigh University and Middlebury College are other institutions of higher learning that have revoked honorary degrees conferred on Giuliani.
We greatly value the support each of you has given to LDAD. Your voice is important in maximizing our collective impact.
Signed,
The Steering Committee, Lawyers Defending American Democracy
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