Thread by @objkshn

As a member of the New York state bar, @RudyGiuliani has certain professional responsibilities. Let's examine these further.

@RudyGiuliani "A lawyer should further the public’s understanding of and confidence in the rule of law and the
justice system because, in a constitutional democracy, legal institutions depend on popular participation and
support to maintain their authority." Rudy undermines this purpose.

@RudyGiuliani Just by example alone, suggesting to others more naive that what Rudy does is what all attorneys do or can do, is undermining "public's understanding of and confidence in the rule of law." Spoiler alert: Rudy is rogue actor and not acting in conformity to professional rules.

@RudyGiuliani The bar standards require every lawyer to "aid in securing" observance of rules of professional conduct by other lawyers. "So long as its practitioners are guided by these principles the law will continue to be a noble profession." Thus, this thread is my professional obligation.

@RudyGiuliani I should note that I am licensed to practice law in California and not in New York. But these rules are not unlike those in California and the danger that Rudy's behavior left unchallenged will not just impact the New York bar but the bar of every state across the nation.

@RudyGiuliani Indeed, to allow Rudy's substandard conduct to go unchallenged would be to lower the figurative bar for the literal bar. Okay, that's just me having fun with words. Back to the task.

@RudyGiuliani Let's turn to the first rule: 1.1 Competence.
A lawyer shall not intentionally prejudice or damage the client . . .
. . . yet Rudy is routinely appearing on national TV and admitting his client did acts which, if true, would constitute a criminal offense.

@RudyGiuliani Here he is admitting that Trump paid hush money to a porn star, contradicting the public statements of his client. scmp.com/news/world/uni…

@RudyGiuliani Here, he defended his tactics of imputing a scandal against special prosecutor Mueller he knew did not exist in order to defend Trump against future impeachment. That's not only evidence of Rudy's incompetence, but of fraud and deceit, too. scmp.com/news/world/uni…

@RudyGiuliani And "another meltdown" is the oft-used phrase journalists use to describe Rudy's behavior on-camera. This would prejudice or damage an ordinary client but it gets more murky when Trump is the client and Rudy most often makes an appearance to distract from Trump's latest doings.

@RudyGiuliani NYSB Rule 1.2 provides that just because you represent a monster doesn't mean you are a monster. This just because does not apply when attorneys convey their allegiance to the monster and act as a "fixer" like Michael Cohen or consigliere for the Trump organized crime syndicate.

@RudyGiuliani Contrary to what most law and order episodes portray, a lawyer "SHALL NOT counsel a client to engage, or assist a client, in conduct that the lawyer knows is illegal or fraudulent." The shall conveys this is a mandatory prohibition and not discretionary or permissive.

@RudyGiuliani This means that Rudy cannot assist Trump in obtaining (or extorting) the assistance of other countries in maintaining or securing Trump's power. This means that Rudy cannot assist Trump in the day-to-day operations of his organized crime family operations.

@RudyGiuliani Another rule gives a pass to attorneys who fail to exercise or protect clients rights when that failure is not prejudicial. But it is a prejudicial conflict of interest to represent someone charged with a crime when attorney is an unindicted coconspirator to the same crime.

@RudyGiuliani When client, as with Trump, is engaged in ongoing criminality and seeks legal counsel in that regard, Rudy may only advise against and cannot do anything to assist. If continuing representation requires concealment of ongoing criminality, withdrawal is required.

@RudyGiuliani So lying to the public about a non-existent scandal about Mueller to obfuscate his client's ongoing obstruction of justice efforts is a no-no as would be assisting Trump in securing foreign assistance against his adversaries in an election.

@RudyGiuliani Rule 1.6 requires Rudy keep inviolate Trump's confidences. Note this rule extends beyond "attorney-client privilege" and includes matters not protected by privilege but that also are embarrassing to the client. Every media appearance by Rudy is embarrassing to him and his client.

@RudyGiuliani How this is important is EITHER Trump is consenting to this public disclosure (and thus the statements of his attorney could be imputed to him via this consent) OR Rudy acting outside the rules of professional conduct to which he is obligated.

@RudyGiuliani But Rudy cannot hide behind this rule with the House subpoena as that is one of the exceptions which permits the disclosure of confidential information. Another exception exists where the information is being used to further a crime or fraud.

@RudyGiuliani Rudy, when it gets sticky on air, resorts to the use of the "hypothetical," mistakenly thinking that this device will absent him from obligation under these rules. Not so, however, when people of ordinary intelligence can figure out the particular client to which he is referring.

@RudyGiuliani Nor can Rudy hope assert Trump's fraudulent acts are past acts. The rules treat as ongoing acts of fraud in which there remain new victims who are still being deceived and the client's " refusal to end a continuing crime is equivalent to an intention to commit a new crime."

@RudyGiuliani Conflict of Interest. Ordinarily, an attorney cannot represent two or more co-defendants charged with the same criminality. This is because it may be in each defendant's best interest to point the finger at the other and joint representation precludes this option.

@RudyGiuliani But we have an even worse scenario here where Rudy is a criminal participant, and not just an attorney, to the criminal conspiracy of his client. His interests in self-preservation have already compromised his client's interests and will continue to do so. Here's the rule:

@RudyGiuliani A client who is a participant in the same criminal conspiracy as his attorney cannot waive his right to conflict-free counsel as the conflict-ridden and criminally complicit attorney cannot possibly provide competent and diligent representation.

@RudyGiuliani The ONLY reason his representation has been permitted thus far is because there are no criminal proceedings pending where Rudy answered up as Trump's attorney. As soon as criminal court proceedings begin, Rudy is gonna be out of the picture. Or included as a named defendant.

@RudyGiuliani Many mental health professionals have concluded, that Trump is mentally unfit and is not capable of making rational decisions that are not injurious to self or others. In such an instance, Rudy, as his attorney, would be obligated to seek a conservator or guardian for his client.

@RudyGiuliani Rudy should consider (i) Trump’s ability to articulate reasoning leading to a decision, (ii) the variability of his state of mind and his inability to appreciate consequences of a decision; the fairness of a decision, & (iii) the consistency of his decisions with his past values

@RudyGiuliani Rudy can consult with these diagnosticians who have concluded “Just as suspicion of crime should lead to an investigation, the severity of impairment that we see [in Trump] should lead to an evaluation, preferably with the president’s consent.”
vice.com/en_us/article/…

@RudyGiuliani Rudy cannot "knowingly [assert] material factual statements that are false." Statements a lawyer makes suggesting reasonable doubt during a trial are permitted. Statements a lawyer makes extrajudicially to poison the jury pool via the media are not.

@RudyGiuliani And the law imposes a higher duty upon Rudy when he appears before a "tribunal" than when he is appearing on various cable news shows. Specifically:

@RudyGiuliani These higher obligations before a tribunal will apply when Rudy appears before the House of Representatives in obeyance to the subpoena as the House proceedings satisfy the NYSB definition of "tribunal."

@RudyGiuliani When appearing before the House pursuant to subpoena, Rudy will be constrained not to offer or rely upon false evidence, even if Trump desires that he does.

@RudyGiuliani The rules concerning trial publicity are being violated every time Rudy appears on TV on Trump's behalf, but without actual criminal proceedings and a judge to moderate, there is no one to compel Rudy to behave.

@RudyGiuliani If another attorney not representing Trump were to speak before the media on such matters, such commentary is not prohibited. It's just the ATTORNEYS REPRESENTING THE ACCUSED - i.e. Rudy - who are professionally obligated not to seek to prejudice jurors to their clients favor.

@RudyGiuliani Another conflict of interest that exists in this case is because Rudy is a witness on a significant issue of fact, namely, his efforts to shake down Ukraine to help Trump's election chances. This should necessitate Rudy's withdrawal from representation.

@RudyGiuliani And lawyers cannot EVER lie to protect their clients, even when their clients are paying them to do so, without risking disciplinary consequences from state bar. Here's the New York state bar rule. A similar rule exists in California. All other state bars should also require.

@RudyGiuliani This definition of misrepresentation is provided here to help inform @RudyGiuliani as he struggles understanding the definitions of commonly understood terms, like "truth" and "freedom."

@RudyGiuliani And as well, some free advice is provided to @RudyGiuliani This is one of those times that would require "the lawyer to give notice of the fact of withdrawal and to disaffirm" the false claims and representations of his client.

@RudyGiuliani I've already posted a thread about the "perjury dance," that will be required of anyone representing Trump in a proceeding in which he could be called to offer testimony. Here is that thread:

https://twitter.com/objkshn/status/1149577292319866880?s=20

@RudyGiuliani And I've previously explained why Trump is not likely going to be able to hire competent counsel to defend him so unless he is appointed counsel his lack of representation would be a constitutional crisis. Here's that thread:

https://twitter.com/objkshn/status/983943604107231232?s=20

@RudyGiuliani Going forward, others should join the ranks of Kamala Harris in calling for New York State Bar to take disciplinary action against one of its members. As this thread indicates, there are ample violations of the rules that present themselves here. @NYSBA thehill.com/homenews/campa…

@RudyGiuliani @NYSBA Or as the NYSBA may be impotent in this regard, that the grievance committee of the NY State Supreme Court do so. His unchallenged and unethical behavior impugns all attorneys throughout the country and seeks to misinform the public of the role and responsibility of lawyers.

@RudyGiuliani @NYSBA I'm not going to join in Kamala Harris' advice that Rudy hire an attorney and remain silent. I'm not his attorney and as a member of the public I'd much rather see him keep exposing Trump's fraud. So, keep doing what you're doing Rudy. But not with a law license. /end