The New York State Bar is opening an investigation into removing Rudy Giuliani from its membership

The NYSBA is a voluntary bar association that cannot exclude Giuliani, the former US attorney for the Southern District of New York and who is now President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, and thus the removal will not prevent him from representing the President in Impeachment trial Or other lawsuits pending against him. But the rare move by the association adds to the layer of criticism Giuliani faced from the legal community over his defense of Trump.

Condemning the blockade of the US Capitol Building, NYSBA said in A. statement It has received “hundreds of complaints in recent months” regarding Giuliani’s efforts to contest the election on Trump’s behalf and that his remarks on the rally prompted the group’s president, Scott M. Carson, to determine whether the attorney should be fired.

“This decision is historic for NYSBA, and we have not taken it lightly. We cannot stand by and allow those who intend to tear apart the fabric of our democracy to pass unchecked,” the NYSBA said in a statement.

CNN reached out to Giuliani for comment on Monday.

According to its bylaws, “No person who advocates the overthrow of the United States government, or any state, territory, possession, or any political division therein, by force or by other illegal means, may be a member of an association.” NYSBA said Guiliani’s remarks at the rally “are intended to encourage supporters of Trump who are dissatisfied with the election result to take matters into their own hands.”

New York said their subsequent attack on the Capitol was nothing less than an attempted coup aimed at preventing a peaceful transfer of power.

The New York news agency said Giuliani would have the option to object to his dismissal and “explain and defend his words and actions.”