Investigators raided the apartment and office of Rudy Giuliani, the former attorney of former President Donald Trump, in New York on Wednesday. The raids are linked to a criminal investigation into Giuliani’s business activities in Ukraine. International news agencies report this.
In the Manhattan raids, authorities confiscated the computers and cell phones of the 76-year-old former New York mayor – in a drastic move against a lawyer. The raids indicate a year-and-a-half escalation of the investigation into Giuliani, who may have violated laws in lobbying on behalf of Ukrainian officials.
To obtain permission to conduct raids, the investigator must convince the judge that there are indications that the suspect may have committed crimes. The double incursion might indicate that Giuliani, who made a name for himself in the 1980s as a New York City attorney general who dealt with crime, will face criminal charges – though this is not certain.
unregistered
Permission was granted to launch the startling raids, which were approved by the highest level of the Ministry of Justice, according to insiders, on the basis, among other things, that Giuliani did not register him as a representative of foreign interests. This violates federal pressure laws.
In the run-up to the 2020 US presidential election, Giuliani led a campaign to uncover material condemning the Democratic candidate, incumbent President Joe Biden, and his son Hunter in Ukraine. Trump’s first impeachment trial, in early 2020, revolved around allegations that Trump used the country’s aid money as leverage for a service on that front from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Giuliani’s lawyer, Bob Costello, rejected the raids, describing them as politically motivated. According to him, the seized electronic devices are “full” of material to which Giuliani’s right not to disclose information as a lawyer applies. Andrew Giuliani, son of the former mayor, described the raids as “disgusting” and “absolutely ridiculous”.
