In a court filing on Monday, prosecutors said that Rudy Giuliani will not be charged with a crime in New York City. This decision was reached more than a year after the FBI raided the ex-NYC mayor’s home and seized several electronic gadgets. An independent special master had been assigned to evaluate the evidence that the FBI took.
Prosecutors wrote to Judge Paul Oetken on Monday to inform him that Giuliani would not be facing any criminal charges.
The grand jury inquiry that resulted in the issuing of the warrants has been concluded, the government informed the court in writing. Executing search warrants against a lawyer, let alone one representing a former president, is unusual for prosecutors. The action was a significant turning point in the investigation against Giuliani, which focused on some of the same individuals as in Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial.
After the FBI raided Giuliani’s Manhattan residence, a source informed the media that federal prosecutors from the Southern District of New York were looking into Giuliani’s connections with Yuriy Lutsenko, a former top Ukrainian prosecutor. The source said that the federal government was looking into whether Giuliani violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act by acting as a representative for Lutsenko, a significant figure in former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment.
Several Ukrainian officials, including Lutsenko, are said to have given Giuliani potentially damaging material about Trump’s political foes. Congress impeached Trump in 2019 for reportedly attempting to influence the 2020 election by obtaining information on Joe Biden from Ukrainian authorities. The Senate cleared Trump of all charges, and he later lost the 2020 presidential race to President Biden. The January 6 attack on the Capitol and, eventually, Trump’s second impeachment were caused by Trump and Giuliani’s refusal to recognize the outcome of the 2020 election.
Giuliani is notably jubilant over the close of the investigation and his vindication. His attorney, Robert Costello, said, “It’s wonderful, long-expected news. Unfortunately, Mayor Giuliani had to spend two and a half years to three years with this cloud over his head.”
