Giuliani Lawyers Ask Judge to Block Review of Data From His Phones

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks during a briefing at the White House in Washington on Sept. 27, 2020. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

Lawyers for Rudy Giuliani have asked a federal judge to review the “constitutionality and legality” of the federal government’s conduct in its investigation before the appointment of a special master after several of Giuliani’s devices were seized when his apartment was searched by federal investigators.

“The validity of the 2019 covert warrant, and the handling of the information obtained by the prosecutor are serious questions that must be resolved before any further damage is done,” Giuliani lawyers Robert Costello and Arthur Aidala wrote in a letter (pdf) unsealed on May 17 that was sent last week to U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York Paul Oetken.

The attorneys argued that the “fruits of the 2019 search were certainly used in some part to secure the 2021 largely duplicative search warrant and subsequent seizures. It is for those reasons that it is premature to consider a special master before these critical issues are resolved.”

The attorneys are calling on the court to rule on their filing before a special master is appointed to review the contents seized during the raid on Giuliani’s apartment.

Costello and Aidala said federal investigators shouldn’t begin to examine electronic material seized from Giuliani—a former attorney of former President Donald Trump—until they provide more information about a “covert warrant” they executed in 2019 that targeted Giuliani’s iCloud account.

According to the letter, the material obtained via the iCloud account was used to obtain a warrant for the April search of his apartment. Federal investigators seized several of Giuliani’s smartphones, laptops, and other devices, Guiliani confirmed at the time.

Giuliani was serving as Trump’s personal lawyer and was an attorney to several other high-profile individuals when the 2019 warrant was used, Costello wrote in the letter.

“In addition, in the original warrant for the iCloud account, there is a non-disclosure 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,” the former mayor’s attorneys stated.

“Such an allegation, on its face, strains credulity. 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. We should be allowed to question the Government as to what basis it had, if any, to make that assertion.”

Giuliani had denied any wrongdoing during an interview with Fox News in early May, saying the warrant appeared to be based on the suspicion that Giuliani violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act by allegedly lobbying on behalf of Ukrainian officials. The law requires people to notify the U.S. Department of State if they are acting as a foreign agent.

“I know the criminal law and I do not violate it,” Giuliani said, adding at the time that he believed the April raid of his apartment was politically motivated.

The Department of Justice didn’t respond to requests for comment from The Epoch Times.