Lawyers for Rudy Giuliani urged a federal judge to order federal prosecutors to reveal the government’s justifications behind search warrants in an investigation into the former New York City mayor’s foreign business dealings.
In response to prosecutors requesting the appointment of an outside lawyer, or “special master,” to weigh the possible use of materials seized from Giuliani’s home and office in April, the legal team argued that data secretly collected from his iCloud account in 2019 might have been subject to attorney-client privilege as Giuliani was the personal lawyer to former President Donald Trump at the time.
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“After our review, we expect to be able to expand our argument that this unilateral, secret review was illegal, and should be deterred in the future by suppression of any evidence considered, and also any information obtained as fruit of this poisoned tree,” Giuliani’s lawyers wrote, according to a letter to the court unsealed on Monday.
Giuliani, 76, is reportedly under federal investigation over whether he illegally lobbied the Trump administration in 2019 on behalf of Ukrainian individuals who were assisting him to dig up dirt on the former president’s political rivals, including President Joe Biden. Giuliani has not been charged with a crime, has denied ever representing a foreign national, and claims the materials seized by the FBI are “exculpatory” evidence.
Days after federal authorities seized electronic devices from Giuliani’s home and office in New York City, prosecutors informed his legal team about how in 2019, investigators had obtained a search warrant to access data on a backup cloud account, according to the Washington Post.
Giuliani’s lawyers requested that Manhattan federal court Judge J. Paul Oetken unseal the affidavits underlying the 2019 and 2021 warrants and asked for more details about a nondisclosure agreement that was included in the iCloud warrant. They argued this should happen before the start of any review by a special master, who would be tasked with determining whether the materials seized in April are subject to attorney-client privilege and, therefore, cannot be used by the Justice Department.
A spokesman for the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office declined comment to multiple news outlets about the Giuliani team’s latest claims.
A search warrant was also carried out last month on the home of Giuliani ally Victoria Toensing, whose lawyers requested a judge order the government to give back the materials seized from her.
FBI agents retrieved a cellphone from Toensing’s Washington, D.C.-area home on April 28, though the lawyer has denied any wrongdoing and said she would cooperate with investigators if asked.
Trump has defended Giuliani, saying last week that the raids by federal investigators were “unfair.” He also called Giuliani a “great patriot” during an interview with Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo.
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The investigation is led by Audrey Strauss, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, the same post held by Giuliani in the 1980s before becoming mayor of New York City.
