Giuliani asks judge to block review of records seized in raid of home, office

Rudy Giuliani, who has served as former President Trump’s personal attorney, is asking a federal judge to block prosecutors from reviewing any of the documents seized from his home or office late last month.

In a 17-page court filing from last week that was made public on Monday, Giuliani’s lawyers argued that the basis of the seizure was unjustified. The filing was in response to prosecutors’ request for a special master to review the materials seized.

The former New York City mayor’s attorneys say the constitutionality of the search and seizure must first be resolved.

“Before any further review (including by a Special Master) and any further damage is done to the public’s confidence in the confidentiality of their communications with counsel, the issue of the constitutionality and legality of the government’s conduct to this point in the investigation must be resolved,” wrote Giuliani’s attorneys.

Giuliani’s motion seeks to stymie the government’s investigation into his dealings in Ukraine by arguing that prosecutors with the Southern District of New York should have sought materials from him via subpoena. The motion also rejects concerns by prosecutors that Giuliani, a former federal prosecutor, would ever destroy evidence.

“In addition, in the original warrant for the iCloud account, there is a nondisclosure order based upon an allegation made to the issuing Court, that if Giuliani were informed of the existence of the warrant, he might destroy evidence or intimidate witnesses. Such an allegation, on its face, strains credulity,” his attorneys argued.

“It is not only false, but extremely damaging to Giuliani’s reputation. It is not supported by any credible facts and is contradicted by Giuliani’s efforts to provide information to the Government,” they continued.

Throughout the motion, the lawyers alleged that prosecutors were politically motivated in their investigation of Giuliani.

Giuliani made similar accusations during a Fox News interview earlier this month, arguing that Trump’s allies were the targets of politically motivated FBI raids meant to damage their public reputations.

“Usually a person who has been a former assistant U.S. attorney, a U.S. attorney, a mayor, the associate attorney general, usually they receive a subpoena — not have their home raided,” Giuliani told Fox News.

“The only lawyers they raid are lawyers for Donald Trump. I can’t think of another lawyer that has been raided other than lawyers for Trump,” he added. “Trump is in a special category because he doesn’t have constitutional rights.”

The Wall Street Journal reported last month that federal authorities were seeking communications between the former New York City mayor and a number of people, including John Solomon, a former opinion columnist for The Hill, as part of their search of Giuliani’s home and office.

Solomon wrote several columns regarding Ukraine that became a subject of the 2019 House Intelligence Committee impeachment inquiry against Trump. The Hill published a review of Solomon’s columns the following year and determined they lacked context and key disclosures.