Rudy Giuliani defends work on election fraud lawsuit at DC hearing

As a Washington, D.C. disciplinary panel heard charges that he violated the attorney ethics rules in the case, former President Donald Trump's former lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, defended his work on a failed election fraud lawsuit.

The lawsuit in November 2020, intended to throw out votes cast in Pennsylvania, was rejected by a judge. A federal appeals court refused to allow the campaign to file a revised complaint.

Hamilton Phil Fox, of the District of Columbia Office of Disciplinary Counsel, told the panel that the former New York City mayor, once the top U.S. prosecutor in Manhattan, seized his license to bring a frivolous action in an attempt to undermine the Constitution. Monday marked the start of weeklong arguments before a committee of the D.C. Board on Professional Responsibility, which could recommend suspending Giuliani's D.C. law license or disbarring him. A D.C. court will make the final decision on any discipline.

Giuliani's lawyer, John Leventhal, said his client should not face charges because the judge in Pennsylvania did not accept and never considered the only version of the complaint that Giuliani himself signed.

Leventhal faulted the judge's reasons for dismissing the suit and said that the court did not sanction Giuliani over his arguments.

Giuliani was the first witness to be called on Monday. He described how he began leading the Trump campaign's legal efforts to challenge the 2020 election results, including his work on the Pennsylvania lawsuit.

Disciplinary counsel Fox asked Giuliani if he had backed up certain claims in the lawsuit with sufficient detail, which lawyers are required to do when alleging fraud. Giuliani said the allegations were as specific as he could make them at the time, adding that he was under time constraints to sue before the election results were certified.

Giuliani's testimony is expected to conclude on Tuesday.

Giuliani's New York law license was suspended in June 2021 after a state appeals court found that he made false and misleading statements that widespread voter fraud undermined the election.

After the New York decision, his D.C. law license was temporarily suspended.