Rudy Giuliani’s home and office were raided in 2021 by federal authorities as part of an investigation into whether the former New York City mayor illegally lobbied on behalf of Ukraine, according to newly revealed court records.
Investigators were looking into whether Giuliani pushed to have the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine removed on behalf of interests in the country. He was never charged with a crime.
The warrant, first acquired by The New York Times, sought to determine whether Giuliani was illegally compensated for lobbying the Trump administration to dump Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch.
The document claimed Giuliani was encouraged to push out Yovanovitch in exchange for a lucrative D.C. lobbying job on behalf of Ukrainian prosecutor Yuriy Lutsenko.
“Giuliani was interested in being engaged to do that work, and proposed a retainer with a $200,000 upfront payment,” the warrant application said. “Thus, it appears that Giuliani took steps to cause the firing of the Ambassador to prove … what he could achieve.”
It also claimed Giuliani wanted Lutsenko to launch an investigation into then-presidential candidate Joe Biden. Those interactions were later part of then-President Trump’s first impeachment investigation.
Using the warrant, federal investigators determined that Giuliani was never paid the $200,000 retainer but highlighted that a quickly worsening financial position made it possible that he could have seriously considered the offer.
Investigators also revealed text messages with Trump aide Lev Parnas about the scheme, in which Giuliani says he had little influence over Yovanovitch’s eventual ouster. Parnas was sentenced to 20 months in prison last year in an unrelated illegal lobbying case.
Without significant evidence, prosecutors ended the investigation into Giuliani in late 2022.
The former mayor’s finances have been at the center of his recent legal troubles over attempts to overturn the 2020 election. He was handed a $148 million penalty in a Georgia defamation case last week, after baselessly accusing a pair of election workers of fraud.
Giuliani also faces a criminal trial in Georgia over his involvement in attempts to overturn 2020 election results there on behalf of Trump.
He has reportedly struggled to pay for legal representation in the cases, repeatedly asking Trump for funds. He was sued by his former attorney over unpaid legal bills in September, and the IRS placed a lien on his Florida condo in August over unpaid taxes.