Federal prosecutors are said to be looking into making a legal request for Rudy Giuliani’s emails.
The investigation into Donald Trump’s personal attorney is ‘very active’, NBC reports.
Sources tell the network prosecutors for the Southern District of New York have spoken about getting access to his electronic communications.
New York prosecutors need the approval of Washington before they can move forward with obtaining a search warrant for information potentially protected by attorney-client privilege.
It is not known whether Bill Barr’s Justice Department has granted that approval.
The Attorney General is set to leave office in days after it was revealed Barr took steps to keep a probe in Hunter Biden from being made public before the election in keeping with DOJ policy on not interfering in elections.
Giuliani has reportedly been under investigation by federal prosecutors in New York over his work in Ukraine, which became the heart of Trump’s impeachment.
The impeachment revealed efforts by Giuliani and his associates to push out the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch.
Draft documents revealed last year show Giuliani seeking to have Ukrainian government officials pay substantial fees to his consulting firm, although there is no evidence the deals went through.
The feds are said to be looking into making a legal request for Rudy Giuliani ‘s emails
It is not known whether Bill Barr’s Justice Department has granted that approval. The Attorney General, pictured, is set to leave office in days
Giuliani, who was hospitalized earlier this month after testing positive for COVID-19, was spotted at the White House on Monday.
His attorney, Robert Costello, told NBC: ‘I have no reason to believe there’s any truth to the allegations that there is renewed interest in my client.’
Giuliani associates Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman were arrested last year and charged with federal campaign finance violations.
The two men, who have pleaded not guilty, were arrested at an airport outside Washington carrying one-way tickets to Europe.
They made hundreds of thousands of dollars in political donations to Republicans while facing lawsuits from disgruntled investors over unpaid debts.
In October 2019 The Wall Street Journal reported SDNY prosecutors were looking into Giuliani’s bank records as part of that investigation.
Then, in February, The Washington Post said the authorities were speaking with witnesses and looking to gather more information on Giuliani.
Exact details on the current investigation remain unclear. Neither the Justice Department or the SDNY has commented.
Giuliani was hospitalized earlier this month after testing positive for COVID-19. He is pictured with President Donald Trump
Parnas, center, and Fruman were arrested at an airport outside Washington carrying one-way tickets to Europe. They made hundreds of thousands of dollars in political donations to Republicans while facing lawsuits from disgruntled investors over unpaid debt. Giuliani is far right, Trump second right, and VP Mike Pence left
Former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Chuck Rosenberg said: ‘Search warrants for a subject’s personal belongings are not terribly discreet and the recipient of the warrant can talk about it.
‘That could be a legitimate concern before an election but the equation changes after an election, when you no longer need to abstain from overt investigative steps.’
At the beginning of this month The New York Times reported Giuliani had discussed a preemptive pardon for himself with Trump.
Giuliani denied the report on Twitter. ‘#FakeNews NYT lies again. Never had the discussion they falsely attribute to an anonymous source. Hard to keep up with all their lies,’ he wrote.
On the day before Thanksgiving, Trump pardoned former National Security Advisor Mike Flynn, who had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his Russia contacts, then sought to withdraw the plea in court.
U.S. intelligence alerted the White House last year that a Russian intelligence officer was seeking to feed disinformation to Giuliani in his efforts to uncover information in Ukraine.
Giuliani associates Lev Parnas, right, and Igor Fruman, left, were arrested for allegedly conspiring to circumvent federal campaign finance laws in schemes to funnel foreign money to U.S. candidates running for office at the federal and state levels