Rudy Giuliani’s attorneys claimed that the covert warrant for his Apple iCloud account and the raid in April show that federal agents are treating the former New York City mayor like a “drug kingpin or terrorist,” The Associated Press (AP) reported Tuesday.
Giuliani’s lawyers sent a letter to a federal judge in Manhattan after agents raided Giuliani’s home and seized electronics, stating that investigators intruded on his private conversations with former President Donald Trump, according to The AP. A redacted version of the letter was made public Monday but was initially sent last week.
The seized files more than likely included “material relating to the impending impeachment, the welfare of the country, and to national security,” Guiliani’s lawyers claimed, according to The AP. His lawyers also asked that affidavits in relation to the November 2019 covert warrant be released to help them prove “that this unilateral, secret review was illegal.” (RELATED: ‘A Foreign Agent’?: Here’s Why The Feds Raided Rudy Giuliani)
New York Federal Prosecutors are looking into Giuliani’s relations with Ukrainian figures and whether he violated federal law. Giuliani has previously stated that his activities in Ukraine were on behalf of Trump while he represented the former president for the special counsel’s Russia investigation, The AP reported.
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 19: Rudy Giuliani points to a map as he speaks to the press about various lawsuits related to the 2020 election, inside the Republican National Committee headquarters on November 19, 2020 in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump, who has not been seen publicly in several days, continues to push baseless claims about election fraud and dispute the results of the 2020 United States presidential election. Also pictured, at center, is attorney Sidney Powell. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The AP reported that Giuliani’s lawyers are arguing the raid was unnecessary, as Giuliani has cooperated with the investigation. They also claimed that prosecutors “simply chose to treat a distinguished lawyer as if he was the head of a drug cartel or a terrorist, in order to create maximum prejudicial coverage of both Giuliani, and his most well known client – the former President of the United States,” according to The AP.
“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,” they said, according to The AP.
Giuliani has not been charged with a crime and his lawyers said prosecutors have a week to respond to the letter, The AP reported.