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The political sphere flew into a frenzy this week amid news that the FBI raided the property of yet another …
Good Subscriber Account active since The political sphere flew into a frenzy this week amid news that the FBI raided the property of yet another lawyer working for former President Donald Trump. The feds on Wednesday executed search warrants on Rudy Giuliani’s home and office and seized his electronic devices. Agents also seized a computer belonging to his personal assistant, Jo Ann Zafonte, served Zafonte with a grand jury subpoena, and raided the Washington, DC, home of Giuliani’s associate Victoria Toensing. It was the most significant development to date in an ongoing Justice Department investigation into whether Giuliani broke foreign lobbying laws while working as Trump’s lawyer. Giuliani has not been charged with a crime, and he has denied any wrongdoing. His lawyer, Robert Costello, called the FBI’s raids «legal thuggery» and said in a statement that they reflected a «corrupt double standard» at the Justice Department. Here’s everything you need to know about Trumpworld’s latest scandal: The US attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York — sometimes called the Sovereign District of New York because of its independent reputation — is leading the investigation. In an ironic twist, Giuliani previously served as head of the SDNY. Federal prosecutors began scrutinizing the former New York mayor as part of a broader investigation into two of his Soviet-born business associates, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman. The two men were arrested in October 2019 on suspicion of trying to funnel foreign money into a pro-Trump super PAC and other entities to gain leverage in US political circles. Prosecutors also alleged that Parnas and Fruman tried to influence US-Ukraine relations. The Washington Post reported that the men had been working with Giuliani since late 2018 to find damaging information about the Bidens ahead of the 2020 election. John Dowd, an attorney representing Parnas and Fruman, told Congress in a statement shortly before their arrest that they had helped Giuliani in his work for Trump. The full scope of the criminal inquiry is unclear, but its central thread appears to be focused on Giuliani’s longrunning effort to dig up dirt on the Bidens.
