Rudy Giuliani’s Apartment Searched By Feds, Electronic Devices Seized

Rudy Giuliani, former New York City mayor and personal lawyer to Donald Trump, was served a search warrant on Wednesday by federal investigators at his Upper East Side apartment in Manhattan. The search, which resulted in Giuliani’s electronic devices being confiscated, was part of an investigation into whether Giuliani broke lobbying laws in his dealings with Ukraine while working for Trump. From the New York Times:

Executing a search warrant is an extraordinary move for prosecutors to take against a lawyer, let alone a lawyer for a former president, and it marks a major turning point in the long-running investigation into Mr. Giuliani.

The federal authorities have been largely focused on whether Mr. Giuliani illegally lobbied the Trump administration in 2019 on behalf of Ukrainian officials and oligarchs, who at the same time were helping Mr. Giuliani search for dirt on Mr. Trump’s political rivals, including President Biden, who was then a leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Read the full article at the New York Times. The Times notes that during the Trump administration, high level officials worked to block the approval of the search warrant. But once Merrick Garland took over as Attorney General, the warrant was approved. Trump’s former former lawyer Michael Cohen tweeted the news this morning.

Here we go folks!!! ⁦@RudyGiuliani⁩ Apartment Searched in Federal Investigation – The New York Times ⁦@nytimes⁩ ⁦@maggieNYT⁩ https://t.co/fmpk18NH5X

— Michael Cohen (@MichaelCohen212) April 28, 2021

“Under Mr. Trump, senior political appointees in the Justice Department repeatedly sought to block such a warrant, …. After Merrick B. Garland was confirmed … , the Justice Department lifted its objection to the search.https://t.co/fdrPJUkci6

— George Conway (@gtconway3d) April 28, 2021

During their raid of Rudy Giuliani’s NY apartment, FBI seized records and electronic devices as part of SDNY’s criminal investigation against him regarding his dealings in Ukraine.

This is what William Barr was trying to cover up and was blocking from happening.

Delicious.

— Ricky Davila (@TheRickyDavila) April 28, 2021

So I guess Rudy Giuliani won’t be returning my call today.

— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) April 28, 2021