Today Federal investigators executed a search warrant of the home of Rudy Giuliani resulting in the seizure of his electronic devices including computers and phones. This is a monumental act by investigators. As a legal matter the presentment of a search warrant means the investigators convinced a judge there was probable cause to believe two things:
1. A crime was committed.
2. Evidence of the crime would be found in the search sought.
Giuliani is the second Trump attorney targeted for a search warrant of his home. The first (Michael Cohen) cooperated with prosecutors, was convicted, and jailed. Cohen is currently serving his sentence under house arrest due to Covid concerns.
Today’s search warrant appears to be related to an investigation of Giuliani’s dealings with Ukrainian and Russian intelligence agents to help Trump’s election, to include by getting dirt on Hunter Biden. So folks, this is the real Hunter Biden investigation.
Two of Giuliani’s associates in these efforts (Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman) were already arrested and charged in October 2019. They were arrested at Dulles International Airport, apparently attempting to flee the country, after having had lunch with Giuliani earlier in the day.
Parnas has been cooperating with investigators and in interviews claims to have implicated both Giuliani and Republican Representative Devin Nunes. A recording was also previously released of a conversation between Donald Trump and Parnas. In it Parnas urges Trump to fire U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch. Trump subsequently did fire Yovanovitch under circumstances that contributed to his first impeachment.
In my experience the execution of a search warrant on a high profile celebrity, particularly a political one like Giuliani, means prosecutors already have enough to indict him and are just tying up the ends of an investigation that will lead to an arrest. As an attorney, as a former Federal prosecutor, as a former Mayor of New York who was practically a national hero, as an attorney for the former President, Giuliani does not get any higher profile.
In my view, this search warrant would not have been executed unless prosecutors already had him cold.
EDIT & UPDATE
In a major update the FBI also executed a search warrant at the home of Victoria Toensing. Toensing was, along with her husband Joseph diGenova (of the law firm (diGenova and Toensing) hired by Trump to represent him in efforts to overturn the election. More to the point, she was also deeply involved with Rudy Giuliani’s efforts in Ukraine to include with the already indicted Lev Parnas.
