The New York State Bar Association on Monday announced it was reviewing the possibility of expelling President Trump's lawyer and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani from its membership. 

The announcement, which the bar association called an inquiry, comes after a riot at the U.S. Capitol left five people dead, including a Capitol police officer. 

Giuliani spoke at a rally prior to the mob of Trump supporters storming the Capitol, where he called for a "trial by combat" in a bid to overturn the election results. 

“If we’re wrong, we will be made fools of, but if we’re right a lot of them will go to jail,” Giuliani said. “Let’s have trial by combat.”

"Mr. Giuliani will be provided due process and have an opportunity – should he so choose – to explain and defend his words and actions," Susan DeSantis, the chief communications strategist for the New York State Bar Association, said in a statement.

"This decision is historic for NYSBA, and we have not made it lightly," the statement continued. "We cannot stand idly by and allow those intent on rending the fabric of our democracy to go unchecked."

The NYSBA said that it received "hundreds of complaints in recent months about Mr. Giuliani and his baseless efforts" to cast doubt on the results of the presidential election and to overturn the results of the election. 

"As widely reported, these efforts included the commencement and prosecution of court actions in multiple states without any evidentiary basis whatsoever," the statement read. "In each and every instance, these actions were appropriately dismissed by the courts in which they were brought."

The move also comes as House Democrats plan this week to move forward with articles of impeachment as the president's final days in office wind down.