Federal agents execute search warrant at Rudy Giuliani's home as part of Ukraine probe
Federal investigators executed a search warrant at Rudy Giuliani's residence in New York on Wednesday morning, as part of an ongoing investigation into Giuliani's dealings in Ukraine, a person with knowledge of the matter tells CBS News.
The New York Times first reported the execution of the search warrant. The Justice Department and FBI declined to comment Wednesday afternoon.
The FBI also executed a search warrant at the Washington, D.C., area home of Victoria Toensing in connection with the investigation into Giuliani's business dealings, a person familiar with the matter said. Toensing is an attorney and Republican operative who has worked with Giuliani.
In October 2019, federal investigators were said to be looking into Giuliani's business dealings with two associates, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman. Both men were indicted on campaign finance violations and accused of illegally funneling money originating from Ukraine to Republican campaigns and causes. At the time, Giuliani said he was unaware of any investigation and had not spoken to investigators. Parnas and Fruman have both pleaded not guilty.
As former President Donald Trump's personal attorney, Giuliani was heavily involved in Mr. Trump's efforts to pressure Ukrainian investigators in 2019 to open anti-corruption probes into his political rivals, including the business dealings of Hunter Biden, President Biden's son. Mr. Trump's push to get Ukrainian officials to investigate the Bidens became the subject of his first impeachment.
While Giuliani worked to uncover damaging information about the president's Democratic rival, he also maneuvered to oust Marie Yovanovitch, then the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine who he believed was impeding his efforts. In November 2019, Yovanovitch testified before Congress that she had learned in late 2018 that Giuliani and former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko had plans to "do things, including to me." She said Lutsenko and Giuliani had several meetings, and Lutsenko sought to remove her in retribution for the embassy's efforts to rid the prosecutor general's office of corruption.
Yovanovitch alleged she was the target of a smear campaign by foreign interests collaborating with Giuliani. Mr. Trump's impeachment proceeding revealed the former New York mayor had spread rumors about Yovanovitch, including allegations she opposed Mr. Trump and was standing in the way of investigations into claims of Ukrainian interference in the 2016 elections and the Bidens.
Yovanovitch was ultimately forced out of her position in Kiev in May 2019. She testified that she "assumed" the president's lack of support for her stemmed from the "partnership" between Lutsenko and Giuliani. In his infamous phone call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on July 25, Mr. Trump said Yovanovitch was "bad news" and would be "going through some things."
Clare Hymes and Andres Triay contributed reporting.
