Giuliani hires attorneys who defended Harvey Weinstein

Ex-Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani in the case related to the FBI raid of his apartment last month has hired two lawyers who worked on disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein’s defense team. 

According to Wednesday court filings, attorneys Arthur Aidala and Barry Kamins notified the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that they were appearing on behalf of Giuliani. 

The two New York-based attorneys previously helped defend Weinstein before he was convicted in February 2020 of rape and sexual assault. 

Weinstein, who is currently serving a more than two-decade sentence in prison, has appealed his case, arguing that his jury was not impartial. 

Aidala and Kamins now appear to be working on behalf of Giuliani, who is the subject of a federal probe into the former New York City mayor’s dealings with Ukrainian oligarchs while working for former President Trump. 

Forbes, which first reported the latest additions to Giuliani’s defense team, noted that Aidala frequently spoke to the media on behalf of Weinstein while defending him and after the 2020 verdict told NPR, “Nobody on [Weinstein’s] defense team is happy that Harvey Weinstein is not sleeping in his own bed.”

Kamins, a retired New York State Supreme Court justice, previously served as an assistant district attorney in Brooklyn, Forbes reported.

John M. Levanthal, another attorney from the New York-based law firm Aidala, Bertuna & Kamins, also appeared in court Wednesday on behalf of Giuliani.

When reached for comment, Aidala confirmed to The Hill that the lawyers were representing Giuliani in relation to the search warrants, but did not provide any additional details on the case.

The Hill has reached out to Giuliani for comment. 

Multiple news reports have noted that Giuliani currently faces allegations that he lobbied the Trump administration on behalf of top Ukrainian officials to secure the firing of Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.

The probe drew increased national attention after FBI agents late last month executed a search warrant and seized electronic devices from Giuliani’s home and office. 

Giuliani has pushed back on the probe, claiming earlier this month that federal prosecutors are trying to “frame” him using the Foreign Agents Registration Act due to his support for Trump. 

Politico reported earlier this month that Giuliani had laid off a number of staffers and independent contractors amid his legal battles. 

Advisers to the embattled lawyer have also reportedly requested that Trump’s team use some of the funds in its $250 million campaign account to reimburse the attorney for his efforts attempting to overturn 2020 election results.