Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani will not face criminal charges following an investigation into his business dealings in Ukraine, prosecutors in New York City said Monday.
Giuliani’s home was raided by the FBI in April 2021 in connection with a probe into whether the former lawyer for Donald Trump had potentially violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) by illegally lobbying on behalf of Ukrainian officials.
Prosecutors allege that he did so by failing to register with the Department of Justice (DOJ) for representing a Ukrainian national or office while working for then-U.S.President Trump.
Giuliani, 78, has disputed the claim and said he never represented a Ukrainian national or any foreign national. While in Ukraine, Giuliani had attempted to find incriminating evidence on then-Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden and his son Hunter, who sat on the board of a gas firm, Burisma Holdings, ahead of the 2020 election.
In Monday’s court filing, prosecutors in the Southern District of New York’s U.S. Attorney’s office told District Judge Paul Oetken that they had decided not to pursue criminal charges against Giuliani following a review of the evidence taken from his residence.
Multiple Devices Seized by FBI
FBI agents seized multiple devices from Giuliani’s home in New York City, including cell phones and laptop computers.
Specifically, prosecutors wrote on Monday that “the grand jury investigation that led to the issuance of the above-referenced warrants has concluded, and that based on information currently available to the Government, criminal charges are not forthcoming.”
Prosecutors also asked Judge Oetken to terminate the appointment of the Special Master overseeing evidence seized by the FBI from Giuliani’s New York apartment that is protected by attorney-client confidentiality, Barbara Jones.
Jones, a retired federal judge, was appointed on Monday as an independent monitor to oversee the Trump Organization as part of New York Attorney General Letitia James’ civil lawsuit against Trump, the Trump Organization, and three of his adult children alleging “years of financial fraud to obtain a host of economic benefits.”
‘Complete and Total Vindication’
Speaking to Fox News last year, Giuliani said: “I never represented a Ukrainian national or official before the United States government. I’ve declined it several times.”
“I’ve had contracts in countries like Ukraine. In the contract is a clause that says I will not engage in lobbying or foreign representation. I don’t do it because I felt it would be too compromising,” Giuliani added.
The former mayor took to Twitter to celebrate the court’s decision on Monday, which he called “complete and total vindication.”
“I will be responding to the rightful decision by the Southern District of New York to drop all charges tonight at 8 pm ET right here on my Twitter Livestream. You won’t want to miss this!” Giuliani wrote.
Meanwhile, his lawyer Bob Costello also praised Monday’s ruling in a statement to the Daily News.
“They recognized that this is a case of national attention with a notorious figure, Mayor Giuliani, so they thought that this was appropriate,” Costello said. “The only problem is that it took as long as it did.”
In August, Giuliani testified before a grand jury in Atlanta investigating possible election crimes.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, a Democrat, is working with the grand jury to look into alleged attempts by Trump, Giuliani, and others to convince officials in Georgia to investigate possible fraud following Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 elections.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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Katabella Roberts is a news writer for The Epoch Times, focusing primarily on the United States, world, and business news.
