A New York appellate court on Thursday suspended Giuliani’s law license after a disciplinary panel found he issued ‘demonstrably false and misleading’ statements about the 2020 presidential election results while serving as Trump’s personal lawyer.

The 33-page decision stated that Giuliani’s conduct threatened ‘the public interest and warrants interim suspension from the practice of law’.

Leading Trump’s challenge to the election outcome, Giuliani said without evidence that voting machines were rigged and the process was plagued with fraud.

‘We conclude that there is uncontroverted evidence that respondent communicated demonstrably false and misleading statements to courts, lawmakers and the public at large in his capacity as lawyer for former President Donald J Trump and the Trump campaign in connection with Trump’s failed effort at reelection in 2020,’ the decision states.

Giuliani’s actions created ‘an immediate threat’ to the public, the court stated. He faces disciplinary proceedings and is allowed to fight his suspension. However, the court said Giuliani will likely be hit with ‘permanent sanctions’ at the end of the proceedings.

His lawyers Barry Kamins and John Leventhal said in a statement obtained by The New York Times they were disappointed that their client’s license was suspended before a hearing was held on the allegations.

‘This is unprecedented as we believe that our client does not pose a present danger to the public interest,’ they stated. ‘We believe that once the issues are fully explored at a hearing, Mr. Giuliani will be reinstated as a valued member of the legal profession that he has served so well in his many capacities for so many years.’

Giuliani was admitted to the New York state bar in 1969 and worked in the Department of Justice during the Reagan administration. He became United States Attorney in Manhattan in 1983. His accomplished career included becoming New York City mayor and guiding the city into recovery from the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

However, Giuliani ran into trouble while representing Trump. In April, FBI agents raided Giuliani’s home in Manhattan, seizing computers and cell phones, as part of an investigation into his dealings with Ukraine leading up to the election. Prosecutors are looking into whether Giuliani illegally lobbied the Trump administration on behalf of Ukrainian officials he asked to dig up dirt on then-presidential candidate Joe Biden.

Giuliani, who is currently not Trump’s lawyer, has denied wrongdoing.