An attorney disciplinary panel ruled on Thursday that Rudy Giuliani who represented former President Donald Trump during the 2020 presidential campaign must pay professional sanctions for making false claims about the election.
The hearing committee of the DC Bar Board on Professional Responsibility's recommendation is non-binding but will move after several more rounds to the DC court of appeals, that will ultimately decided on what punishment Giuliani will face, CNN reported.
The panel’s ruling is seen as a major blow to Trump’s lawyers who attempted to use the legal system to further his claim that the election was stolen.
Committee chair Robert Bernius ruled that the disciplinary counsel of the DC Bar, Hamilton Fox, who put forward the charges against Giuliani, had proven his case in one of the claims with “clear and convincing evidence.”
The committee held several days of proceedings, and called Giuliani and other Trump staffers to testify.
Fox’s case rested on a Trump campaign lawsuit brought in Pennsylvania to invalidate hundreds of thousands of votes.
Giuliani alleged to a federal judge in the case that there was evidence of “widespread, nationwide voter fraud,” accusing the Democrats of rigging the election in the state.
The panel will issue a finding of its investigation, including recommendations. This will lead into a board hearing that will have to choice to adopt the findings or issue changes. The case will then proceed to the DC Court of Appeals, the report said.