Are Trump’s lawyers fined for baseless accusations?

Lawyer Rudy Giuliani – Photo: REUTERS

According to the News Agency ReutersDemocrat Bill Pascrell called on November 20 to revoke the license to practice law of Mr. Giuliani and other members of Trump’s legal group for filing “vain” lawsuits. accusing them of deliberately helping Trump steal Joe Biden’s November 3 election results.

However, ethicists believe that the discipline of lawyers is relatively rare, especially in political disputes.

These are the reasons why Trump’s attorneys have struggled to deal with deprivation of legal practice or even lighter penalties such as fines.

Inconsistency in and out of the courtroom

All 50 states and the District of Columbia have legal ethical principles with attorneys drawn from the standards published by the American Bar Association (ABA).

An ABA rule states that attorneys should only assert an accusation in court if there are “grounds in law,” and there are also laws that prohibit attorneys from making false statements about the parties. third and participate in the deception.

Judges can punish lawyers who violate the code of conduct in a particular case by ordering them to pay the legal costs of the winning party.

Giuliani, Trump’s lead attorney, former federal prosecutor and former politician, made many unproven allegations of voter fraud during press conferences. and appear in front of the media.

At the court hearing on November 17, for example, he first told a Pennsylvania judge that the election had been cheated.

But when questioned by Judge Matthew Brann, Giuliani withdrew the unsubstantiated accusation, admitting that “this is not fraud.”

In general, other members of Trump’s legal team have also brought charges in court, presenting expert arguments on why votes should not be counted.

Viviane Scott, an attorney at the Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz law firm in New York, said there was a reason for the inconsistency between what the Trump campaign was saying in and out of the courtroom.

“We as attorneys, as judicial officers, have a responsibility to give factual statements,” Ms. Scott said.

Sidney Powell spoke with attorney Rudy Giuliani at a press conference given by Trump’s legal team at the Republican National Committee – Photo: AP

Will no one be disciplined?

The rules governing the ethics of lawyers apply both inside and outside the courtroom.

Keith Swisher, a law professor at the University of Arizona, said that while attorneys have more freedom to act at press conferences, they cannot lie in their statements.

Tennessee attorney and ethicist Brian Faughnan said that on social media Twitter and in media appearances, Giuliani and attorney Sidney Powell appear to have violated the rules that prevent them. receive false statements.

But the Trump campaign also released a statement saying Sidney Powell no longer represented them.

Regardless of the facts, Brian Faughnan says he does not believe the authorities will take any action against Giuliani and Powell.

Because investigators have limited resources, he says, they will only focus on obvious mistakes, such as lawyers stealing money from their clients.

Not to mention, according to Brian Faughnan, investigators will also be afraid to punish lawyers for political issues.

Judge sanctions seem more viable, according to Brian Faughnan, but that is unlikely to happen. Usually the opposing party’s attorney demands penalties, but these people may also overlook it when they feel it is not worth their time or money.