Federal investigators are looking into Giuliani’s dealings in Ukraine as potential evidence of criminal conduct.
Federal law enforcement is ramping up their investigation into Rudy Giuliani, leaving Trumpworld on high alert. Giuliani was formerly President Trump’s personal lawyer and became one of his most loyal defenders, becoming a central figure in Trump’s failed efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Now, he may be paying the price for that loyalty. On Wednesday, FBI agents, armed with search warrants, raided his home and office in Manhattan, seizing electronic devices. Giuliani is currently the focus of an ongoing criminal probe from the US attorney’s office in Manhattan, centering on his business dealings in Ukraine and potential illegal activity involving his efforts to investigate Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s son. Wednesday’s raid confirms the seriousness of the investigation, which required Justice Department approval due to Giuliani’s status as a lawyer. The raid clarified the potential for Giuliani, and perhaps other Trump figures, to face federal charges. The investigation hinges on Giuliani’s dealings in Ukraine Investigators are looking for evidence related to Giuliani’s role in the firing of Marie Yovanovitch, Trump’s former ambassador to Ukraine and a central figure in his first impeachment trial, according to the New York Times. Yovanovitch was ousted at the behest of Giuliani, who felt she was standing in the way of his attempts to find damaging information on the Biden family. That saga played out as a small part of the larger impeachment probe regarding Trump’s conduct with Ukranian president Volodymyr Zelensky. Yovanovitch testified in 2019 that Giuliani was working with Ukraine’s former prosecutor general Yuriy Lutsenko, asking him to open inquiries into political enemies including Hunter Biden related to his time on the board of a Ukrainian energy company, and initiating a smear campaign against her when she attempted to follow protocol in arranging meetings between Ukrainian and American law enforcement officials.
