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Criminal Justice Giuliani touts 'total vindication' after prosecutors decline to charge him in Ukraine case

By Debra Cassens Weiss

November 15, 2022, 9:43 am CST

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Lawyer Rudy Giuliani speaks during a news conference in June 2022 in New York. Photo by Mary Altaffer/The Associated Press.

Prosecutors revealed Monday that they have no plans to charge lawyer Rudy Giuliani in connection with his Ukraine work.

In a letter to a New York federal judge, prosecutors said a special master conducting a privilege review of materials seized from Giuliani could be released from her duties because no charges were planned.

The Washington Post, Reuters, the New York Times and Politico are among the publications with coverage.

“Based on information currently available to the government, criminal charges are not forthcoming,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams of the Southern District of New York in the Nov. 14 letter.

Prosecutors had considered whether Giuliani violated federal law by failing to register as a lobbyist. The probe stemmed from Giuliani’s alleged efforts to get Ukraine to investigate President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, in connection with the younger Biden’s service on the board of a Ukrainian energy company, according to the New York Times.

“At the heart of the investigation was Mr. Giuliani’s role in pushing the Trump administration to remove the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Marie L. Yovanovitch,” the New York Times reports.

Former President Donald Trump faced impeachment after removing the ambassador.

On Twitter, Giuliani called the prosecutors’ decision a “complete & total vindication.”

One of Giuliani’s lawyers, Robert Costello, told Politico that prosecutors were tricked when they obtained search warrants in the belief that they had probable cause to charge Giuliani with a crime.

“Somebody lied to them. Somebody gave them alleged probable cause to believe that Rudy Giuliani committed a crime,” Costello told Politico. “That’s clearly turned out not the be the case.”

The special master in the case, retired federal Judge Barbara S. Jones, is moving to New York’s civil case against Trump’s business. She will serve as an independent monitor overseeing the Trump Organization’s operations.

Giuliani is still facing a Georgia investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. He testified before a Fulton County, Georgia, grand jury in August.

See also:

ABAJournal.com: “Afternoon Briefs: Giuliani considered representing Ukraine prosecutor; US opinion shifts on death penalty”

ABAJournal.com: “Afternoon Briefs: AG Barr will consider Giuliani’s Ukraine evidence; Trump praises drug dealer death penalty”

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