Recently unsealed documents have shed light on the 2021 federal raid on Rudy Giuliani's home and office. The raid, a major point of interest, was driven by suspicions of Giuliani's involvement with Ukrainian figures in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election.
Giuliani's Suspected Ukraine Involvement
According to PBS, the documents reveal that the former New York City mayor, and a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, was suspected of seeking the removal of the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, partly for a potential financial reward from a Ukrainian official.
Despite the investigation, Giuliani was not charged with a crime.
Potential Charges Explored
Federal agents, in their search warrant application, raised the possibility of Giuliani and three others being charged with acting as unregistered foreign agents.
This aspect of the investigation was particularly focused on whether Giuliani received anything of value from Ukrainian figures for lobbying the Trump administration to fire then-U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch.
The search warrant application detailed two ways Giuliani was allegedly "incentivized" to lobby for the ambassador’s removal.
Firstly, Yuriy Lutsenko, Ukraine's prosecutor general, reportedly offered to hire Giuliani to lobby the Trump administration. Secondly, Giuliani sought Lutsenko's assistance in launching an investigation that might harm Joe Biden, Trump's Democratic rival.
Both Lutsenko and Giuliani have denied any inappropriate interactions. Giuliani also stated he never lobbied the Trump administration on Lutsenko’s behalf.
Giuliani's Reaction
In November 2022, federal prosecutors disclosed that Giuliani would not face criminal charges over his interactions with Ukrainian figures.
Following the announcement that no charges would be filed, Giuliani tweeted, calling it a "COMPLETE & TOTAL VINDICATION." The investigation's details, while broadly known, were not fully revealed until the unsealing of these documents.
