NEW YORK (Reuters) – Lawyers for Rudy Giuliani on Monday criticized federal prosecutors for their handling of a criminal probe into the former New York City mayor’s business dealings in Ukraine at a time he was serving as then-U.S. President Donald Trump’s lawyer.
In a letter made public on Monday, Giuliani’s lawyers objected to the “broad and sweeping nature” of searches conducted on April 28 at Giuliani’s home and office, where electronic devices were seized, as well as a November 2019 search of his cloud account.
They told U.S. District Judge Paul Oetken he should address those issues before considering prosecutors’ request to appoint a “special master” to screen communications taken from Giuliani’s electronic devices for potentially privileged issues concerning Giuliani’s clients, including Trump.
Prosecutors “simply chose to treat a distinguished lawyer as if he was the head of a drug cartel or a terrorist, in order to create maximum prejudicial coverage of both Giuliani, and his most well-known client–-the former President of the United States,” the lawyers said.
The probe is being conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan that Giuliani led in the 1980s, where he took on defendants like Mafia leaders and junk bond executive Michael Milken. Giuliani has not been charged.
Spokesmen for U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss in Manhattan did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Grant McCool)
