New York State Bar Association considers removing Giuliani for telling MAGA rally crowd to use 'trial by combat' before they stormed Capitol

Rudy Giuliani could face losing his New York State’s Bar Association membership as it announced Monday it is launching an inquiry into his comments inciting a crowd to descend on the Capitol Wednesday. 

The New York State Bar Association condemned the violent mob of Donald Trump's most fervent supporters storming the Capitol building on Wednesday, but claimed that while the president is at fault for the violence, Giuliani is also to blame.

'We must address the root cause of this abhorrent incident, the blame for which lies first and foremost with President Donald Trump,' NYSBA wrote in a statement released Monday.

'But the president did not act alone,' it continued. 'Hours before the angry mob stormed the Capitol walls, Trump's personal attorney, Rudolph Giuliani, addressed a crowd of thousands at the White House, reiterating baseless claims of widespread election fraud in the presidential election and the Georgia U.S. Senate runoffs.' 

Giuliani has continued to stand by the president, even as many of Trump's allies were quick to flee in the fallout of the riot last week.

NYSBA claimed it has received hundreds of complaints regarding Giuliani's efforts to cast doubt on the results of the 2020 presidential election. 

Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani could face expulsion from the New York State Bar Association as it probes him for inciting a crowd to use 'trial by combat' before it stormed the Capitol on Wednesday

In condemning the president's actions, the NYSBA wrote in a statement 'the president did not act alone' and put part of the onus on Giuliani

A crowd of thousands of pro-Trump demonstrators traveled to Washington D.C. and gathered near the White House last Wednesday morning to protest Congress moving forward with certifying the election for Joe Biden.

Before the president emerged from the White House to rally his supporters, several allies riled up the crowd with remarks, including Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani – who has been leading the charge to legally challenge the election results in several swing states. 

'Over the next 10 days, we get to see the machines that are crooked, the ballots that are fraudulent,' Giuliani told the crowd in another attempt to question Dominion voting machines and mail-in ballot discrepancies.

'And if we're wrong, we will be made fools of. But if we're right, and a lot of them will go to jail. So — let's have trial by combat,' he suggested in his remarks.

These comments, and others from Giuliani and the president, are being used by critics to prove that they incited the crowd to march to the Capitol and breach the premises in the midst of the joint session certifying every states' Electoral College results.

Due to the former New York City mayor's comments and his 'prosecution of court actions in multiple states without any evidentiary basis whatsoever', NYSBA is launching an investigation that could result in Giuliani losing membership.

'Based on these complaints, and the statement Mr. Giuliani uttered shortly before the attack on the Capitol, NYSBA President Scott M. Karson has launched an inquiry pursuant to the Association's bylaws to determine whether Mr. Giuliani should be removed from the membership rolls of the Association,' the statement reads.

Within the NYSBA bylaws, it states: 'o person who advocates the overthrow of the government of the United States, or of any state, territory or possession thereof, or of any political subdivision therein, by force or other illegal means, shall be a member of the Association.'

The organization claims that 'Giuliani's words quite clearly were intended to encourage Trump supporters unhappy with the election's outcome to take matters into their own hands.'

'Their subsequent attack on the Capitol was nothing short of an attempted coup, intended to prevent the peaceful transition of power,' it continues.

Last Wednesday, thousands of Trump supporters launched an unprecedented attack on the Capitol.

After successfully breaching the building, supporters marched through the halls, entered lawmakers' offices and disrespected the Senate chamber by hanging from the balcony, sitting in chairs and taking pictures of materials on desks.

Five were left dead in the chaos, including a female Trump supporter who was shot in the chest and a Capitol Police Officer who was hit in the head with a fire hydrant during the riot and died a day later from his injuries.

Lawmakers also said their property was stolen, including a laptop from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office.

Trump condemned the violence at the Capitol, and on Wednesday evening urged his supporters to 'go home' once it turned deadly.

In continued fallout from the events, Giuliani could be expelled from NYSBA.

'Mr. Giuliani will be provided due process and have an opportunity – should he so choose – to explain and defend his words and actions,' the association wrote.

'This decision is historic for NYSBA, and we have not made it lightly. We cannot stand idly by and allow those intent on rending the fabric of our democracy to go unchecked.'