Attorney for the President, Rudy Giuliani speaks to the media at a press conference held in the back parking lot of Four Seasons Total Landscaping on November 7, 2020 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Less than two weeks after holding a press conference at Four Seasons Total Landscaping in Northeast Philadelphia, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani submitted court documents on Tuesday to officially represent the Trump campaign in its lawsuit against Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar (D). The judge allowed it just after noon.
The president’s personal attorney filed an application for pro hac vice admission to practice in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania just ahead of the first hearing in the case, which is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Giuliani joins Marc Scaringi, an attorney and radio host in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in representing the president’s campaign as they continue efforts to get tens of thousands of ballots thrown out in the state.
Scaringi joined the Trump campaign’s legal team after attorneys Linda Kerns, John Scott, and Douglas Bryan Hughes filed a motion to withdraw from the case Monday evening.
U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann, a Barack Obama appointee, told the parties that despite the recent shake-up in legal representation, both sides were to be “prepared for argument and questioning” at the courthouse on Tuesday.
The campaign filed an amended complaint in the case on Sunday, dropping many of the most severe allegations pertaining to observers claiming they were unconstitutionally prevented from viewing the tabulation process. Instead, the legal challenge now relies on the how some counties allowed voters to “cure” deficient ballots while others did not.
Even if the campaign were to prevail under this theory, it wouldn’t affect enough votes to swing the election in Donald Trump’s favor.
BuzzFeed New legal reporter Zoe Tillman noted that it’s … been a while since Giuliani has entered an appearance in federal court.
According to PACER, the last time Rudy Giuliani entered an appearance in federal court was 1992 pic.twitter.com/0tSdbjlUNe
— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) November 17, 2020
In his application to the court, Giuliani represented that he is “currently a member in good standing” in all New York State courts, several federal courts, and the District of Columbia Bar.
But according to the D.C. Bar website, Giuliani’s membership has been administratively suspended for non-payment of dues.
“Pro tip: When your bar membership has been suspended for non-payment of dues, you are *not*, in fact, a ‘member in good standing’ of said bar,” University of Texas law professor Steve Vladeck pointed out on Twitter. “I assume he’s still admitted to practice in New York, so this isn’t about whether he can appear *at all.* But his pro hac application represented that he’s a member in good standing of the D.C. Bar, as well. And, well, that’s … not true.”
Law&Crime checked Giuliani’s attorney status in New York. Records say he is “currently registered.” The rest appears to be hit or miss:
Final update to this check of Giuliani’s bar/court admissions, per his application to join the PA case — SCOTUS confirms he was admitted to that court’s bar in 1979 https://t.co/NqJ3DjnKhS
— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) November 17, 2020
Despite all of this, Judge Brann approved Giuliani’s entrance into the case, the docket shows.
Giuliani was spotted outside of court just before the hearing.
Giuliani Pro Hac Vice by Law&Crime on Scribd
[image via Chris McGrath/Getty Images]
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