Op-ed by John Hanna | Photo: Alamy
The truth is not always the easiest thing to hear or handle. In politics, lives have been lost, money has been exchanged, and other more sinister tactics have most likely been employed in secret. However, this does not justify the call for the truth to be brought to light.
Former New York City Mayor Rudolph “Rudy” Giuliani is feeling this strain as he faces possible disbarment from a disciplinary panel related to comments he made about the 2020 election. Shortly after the 2020 election, two members of Congress, Reps. Ted Lieu, D-Calif, and Mondaire Jones, D-N.Y., sent a letter to the New York State Bar Association.
The purpose of the letter was to request that the New York Bar Association launch an investigation into Donald Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani for involvement in acts of misconduct related to the events of Jan. 6, 2021.
Lieu and Jones in their letter say it is “inconceivable to us that Mr. Giuliani remains in good standing with the New York State Bar Association.” This was a surprising move by Lieu and Jones to indirectly move so aggressively against Giuliani, more so because they did so without calling for Giuliani to testify before Congress.
In most cases of conduct versus misconduct, the Bar Association of each individual state decides what is deemed acceptable and unacceptable behavior by their lawyers. Furthermore, it is interesting to note that Lieu and Jones did not conduct their own investigation about Giuliani before approaching the New York State Bar Association.
In a tweet from The Recount, Giuliani discusses how his attorney was forcibly removed from Giuliani’s defense team, leaving Giuliani to act as his own attorney. In most courts of law, defendants are highly advised to seek outside representation instead of building their own defense.
The call for Giuliani’s disbarment demonstrates an inability in modern politics, and by current politicians to face any sort of pushback from their constituents, or other politicians they may consider adversaries. Giuliani is arguably being forced into disbarment because he had the courage to stand against the consensus and say “no.”
