Manhattan federal prosecutors sought evidence relating to former ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, as well as communications between Rudy Giuliani and a number of Ukrainian officials, in a raid on Giuliani’s apartment on Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Search warrants executed by federal agents sought communications between Giuliani and his associates who pushed for Yovanovitch’s ouster as ambassador in 2019, people familiar with the warrants told the Journal. The warrants reportedly sought evidence connected with former Ukrainian prosecutors general Viktor Shokin and Yuriy Lutsenko, former prosecutor Kostiantyn Kulyk, and former president Petro Poroshenko.
Federal U.S. prosectors have investigated the theory that Giuliani pushed to remove Yovanovitch at the urging of Ukrainian officials, in exchange for information about the Biden family dealings in Ukraine. If true, prosecutors could charge Giuliani with violating federal lobbying laws.
Giuliani denied the allegation in an interview with Fox News’s Tucker Carlson on Thursday.
“The search warrant is on one single failure to file for representing a Ukrainian national or official that I never represented,” Giuliani said. “I never represented a Ukrainian national or official before the United States government. I’ve declined it several times. I’ve had contracts in countries like Ukraine. In the contract is a clause that says I will not engage in lobbying or foreign representation. I don’t do it because I felt it would be too compromising.”
Yovanovitch testified before Congress in November 2019 that Giuliani, along with two associates, attempted to replace her to further their “business dealings in Ukraine.”
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