Topline: President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, is looking for a defense attorney, CNN reported Wednesday, as federal prosecutors in New York narrow in on Giuliani’s dealings in Ukraine as part of an investigation into possible criminal wrongdoing.
- A potential lawyer would represent Giuliani in a federal investigation looking into his ties to two Ukrainian businessmen who were recently indicted for illegally funneling money into U.S. elections to advance their personal business interests.
- Prosecutors say the two businessmen, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, illegally gave money to a Congressman in exchange for help in ousting former Ukraine ambassador Marie Yovanovitch.
- Yovanovitch has become a key part of the impeachment inquiry into Trump because Democrats and career diplomats say she was removed so Giuliani could carry out a “shadow foreign policy” in Ukraine.
News peg: Parnas and Fruman pleaded not guilty Wednesday to campaign finance charges. Read the full indictment here.
Key background: House Democrats have launched an impeachment inquiry into Trump in response to a phone call between Trump and Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky. On the July call, Trump directed Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden and his son Hunter for corruption. Trump and his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani claim that then-vice president Biden pushed for the resignation of Ukraine’s top prosecutor in an effort to quash an investigation into Burisma Holdings, where Hunter Biden had a board seat.
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Article URL : https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2019/10/23/rudy-giuliani-is-reportedly-looking-for-a-defense-attorney/#19be81061ae4