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Giuliani, Bannon, Flynn, Lindell pushed pro-Trump election lies at Guo Wengui social gathering

Giuliani, Bannon, Flynn, Lindell pushed pro-Trump election lies at Guo Wengui party

Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon (R) greets fugitive Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui before introducing him at a news conference on November 20, 2018 in New York, on the death of of tycoon Wang Jian in France on July 3, 2018.

Don Emmert | AFP | Getty Images

It was supposed to be a celebration for a movement that opposes the Chinese Communist Party.

Instead, the swanky private party, held in June at the top of One World Trade Center, served as a platform for several of former President Donald Trump’s allies, including former advisor Steve Bannon and personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, to spew anti-government rhetoric and conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.

The invitation-only event was hosted by a couple of shadowy nonprofits, the Rule of Law Foundation and the Rule of Law Society. They are linked to Guo Wengui, a wealthy exiled businessman from China who is an ardent opponent of that nation’s ruling Communist Party.

CNBC obtained a copy of the invitation, which lists Guo, Bannon and the two new chairs of the nonprofit organizations as speakers for the event. You can view the invitation here.

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and former Trump national security advisor Mike Flynn, both known for pushing the false theory that claims the election was stolen from Trump, also spoke at the June 3 gathering.

“It’s like on the battlefield because this is warfare,” Flynn said at the event, which included lunch, dinner and afternoon tea. “This is warfare that we are in.”

It was streamed on YouTube, which has 30,000 views so far. Neither the YouTube video nor the invitation to the event have been reported on.

Read some of the remarks made at the event:

A person familiar with the event said there could have been up to 200 people in attendance at Aspire, a catering hall located on the 102nd floor of One World Trade Center.

A sales manager at Aspire would not confirm details of the Guo-supported event, although the manager said a 12-hour, 200-guest event with lunch and dinner stations could cost nearly $185,000.

The Rule of Law Society and the Rule of Law Foundation describe themselves as a resource for whistleblowers who want to safely speak out against the Chinese government. Guo fled China in 2014 in anticipation of corruption charges. After he blasted China’s leadership, warrants were reportedly issued for his arrest on charges that included corruption and bribery.

Press representatives for the Guo-linked foundations, Bannon, Flynn and Giuliani did not respond to requests for comment.

A misinformation offensive

The conspiracy theories and speakers heard at the event fit a pattern for the Guo-backed organizations. The nonprofits are cited in a report by Graphika, which describes a “network [that] acts as a prolific producer and amplifier of mis- and disinformation, including claims of voter fraud in the U.S., false information about Covid-19, and QAnon narratives.”

Bannon left his role as chair of the Rule of Law Society last summer. His departure from the board came around the time he was arrested on Guo’s yacht for allegedly defrauding donors through his “We Build the Wall” fundraising campaign. Bannon pleaded not guilty at the time and was later pardoned by Trump.

The invitation to the June event lists Dinggang Wang, a Guo associate and anti-Chinese government YouTube star, as a new chair of the Rule of Law Society. Wang, according to a report by NBC News, appears to have previously helped spread Covid misinformation and conspiracy theories about President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, during the election.

The invitation lists among its topics the “Chinese Communist Party Virus” and “CCP’s existential threat to the US and the world.” But there is no clear indication that people would discuss the 2020 election. Biden defeated Trump, who has continued to lie about how it was stolen from him.

The event was described as a commemoration of a Guo-linked movement known as the New Federal State of China.

“It is with great pleasure and joy that we invite you to join us in New York City for the first anniversary of The New Federal State of China (NFSC),” the invitation read.

At the event, Bannon and Lindell contended that China interfered in the election.

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A government report, declassified in March by the director of national intelligence, said there were “no indications that any foreign actor attempted to alter any technical aspect of the voting process in the 2020 U.S. elections, including voter registration, casting ballots, vote tabulation or reporting results.”

The report also noted that intelligence agencies found that China “did not deploy interference efforts and considered but did not deploy influence efforts intended to change the outcome of the U.S. presidential election.” The report does note that intelligence analysts also assessed that “China did take some steps to try to undermine former President Trump’s reelection.”

Flynn at the Guo-backed party falsely claimed that Trump won the election over Biden. Giuliani took aim at Hunter Biden and the Biden family as a whole, among other conspiracies.

The election claims made by Trump, Bannon, Lindell, Flynn, Giuliani and other allies of the former president have been debunked across the board, including by Republicans and one-time members of the Trump administration.

Then-Attorney General Bill Barr told The Associated Press shortly after Biden was projected to be the winner of the 2020 election that the FBI found no signs of widespread voter fraud.

Trump’s campaign still went on to spend millions to fight a losing battle against the election results. As Congress was signing off on the election results Jan. 6, Trump encouraged his supporters to march on Capitol Hill. The ensuing riot and invasion of Congress led to several deaths and hundreds of federal prosecutions.

Here are some of the notable things said by the leading pro-Trump voices at the One World Trade Center event.

Steve Bannon

Steve Bannon speaks at one year anniversary celebration of the New Federal State of China.

Source: Rule of Law Society | YouTube

“The quality of people that you have brought here today. You are going to have Gen. Mike Flynn. You are going to have Mike Lindell,” Bannon said. “He’s [Lindell] suing Dominion because of the Chinese Communist Party. He’s going to show in court that the Chinese Communist Party actually did cyberattacks on our Nov. 3 election,” Bannon noted.

Moments before Lindell spoke at the event, Bannon said that Lindell’s lawsuits against voting machine companies Dominion and Smartmatic will prove that China interfered in the 2020 election to defeat Trump. Dominion is also suing Lindell.

“Here’s what’s important. He has a lawsuit that he’s going to take to the Supreme Court that’s going to show the Chinese Communist Party interfered in the 2020 election to defeat Donald J. Trump,” Bannon said of Lindell.

Lindell’s claims have been debunked.

Mike Flynn

Source: Rule of Law Society | YouTube

Before Lindell took the stage, Flynn, whom Trump forced out barely a month into his administration, gave his take on the election and suggested that people are planning further fights against the federal government.

“I’m fed up with our government. I’m fed up with the corruption that we’ve experienced and that has been exposed,” Flynn told the crowd. “We have hundreds of millions of people in this country that they see it for what it is. They see the authenticity of a Donald Trump. They know President Trump won this last election. There’s no doubt about it.”

He added: “Where are we as America today? Where are we? And I will tell you. There are hundreds of millions of people around this country that are not about to give this country up. There are patriots everywhere. And I mean 10’s, 20 million people.”

Trump pardoned Flynn in November, two years after the retired lieutenant general pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.

Mike Lindell

Steve Bannon and Mike Lindell speak at one year anniversary celebration of the New Federal State of China.

Steve Bannon and Mike Lindell speak at an event celebrating the first anniversary of the Inauguration of New Federal State of China.

Lindell, the pillow kingpin who became a leading voice on the extreme right, showed a clip from his new film titled “Absolutely 9-0.” In the film clip, Lindell speaks to an anonymous cybersecurity expert who claims to have proof that China interfered in the election.

The conservative-leaning outlet The Dispatch spoke to experts who questioned the legitimacy of many of Lindell’s claims in the film. This month, Lindell hosted what he called a “Cyber Symposium,” where he said he would make public the evidence he had showing that China hacked the 2020 election. Reporters who attended the event said Lindell did not show any evidence proving his claims.

The private anti-China event in June proved to be another moment for Lindell to push his election claims. Lindell claimed in his speech that he found evidence showing China’s attempts to interfere in the election.

“When this does get to the Supreme Court the biggest win here is that they look at it. They have to look at it and they’re going to be heroes because we are going to show them that the CCP used the Democrat Party to attack our country through these machines,” Lindell said.

Lindell explained in a phone interview Wednesday with CNBC that he was invited to the event by Bannon himself and he did not know Guo.

Lindell stood by his belief that China interfered in the election. However, he would not commit to a specific date to release his purported evidence to the public. He also said he had not seen the report by the U.S. intelligence community that explains China did not interfere in the presidential election.

“This happened. It’s real,” Lindell told CNBC. “It’s one of the biggest cover-ups of the biggest crime in history.”

Rudy Giuliani

Source: Rule of Law Society | YouTube

Giuliani, a former federal prosecutor and mayor of New York, was among the last speakers at the event. Giuliani’s license to practice law was suspended both in New York and Washington, D.C., due to the false election claims he is spreading.

At the Guo-backed event, Giuliani took aim at Covid restrictions that were put in place by Democratic governors.

“You could see what I call the dictatorial instincts of socialists in Gov. Newsom, in Gov. Whitmer, in Gov. Cuomo. Just give them a little opportunity to exercise authority and they are going to slam down on you,” Giuliani said, slamming his hand onto the podium.

“Arresting people in handcuffs for not wearing a mask?” Giuliani asked the crowd. “Looks a little like Berlin in the 1930s, huh?” he later added, referring to Nazi Germany.

Giuliani then revisited the Hunter Biden conspiracy. Giuliani’s New York City apartment was raided almost two months before the Guo event. It was reportedly part of a probe into the former New York mayor’s dealings in Ukraine. Giuliani had been trying to dig up dirt on Biden’s son’s business dealings in Ukraine during the election.

“You can’t go through three days without a crime being committed by one of the Bidens,” Giuliani said while describing the evidence he has reviewed against the Biden family, including a hard drive, a copy of which was purportedly provided to the New York Post.

“They are basically a crime family. They started 30 years ago selling his office, for little money. Then big money. Then when he became vice president, there’s a pattern to it.”

Video of the event:

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Rudy Giuliani is suspended from training regulation attributable to Trump statements

Rudy Giuliani is suspended from practicing law due to Trump statements

A New York court suspended Rudy Giuliani from practicing law in the state on Thursday, citing his “false and misleading statements” about the electoral defeat of former President Donald Trump.

The suspension, which will take effect immediately, is a blow to 77-year-old Giuliani, a former New York mayor who was once a senior Justice Department official and US attorney in Manhattan.

It also happens that criminal investigations against Giuliani in connection with his work in Ukraine are being carried out by the same federal prosecutor’s office.

Since Trump’s defeat in November, the former president and his lawyer have made false claims about the legitimacy of President Joe Biden’s election victory. They claim, without evidence, that Trump was cheated of a victory by widespread electoral fraud in key states.

Giuliani’s false statements about the Arizona, Georgia, and Pennsylvania elections – all states Biden won – were cited in the crushing, 33-page suspension order issued by a five-person appeal panel of the New York State First Judicial Department . This division includes the Bronx and Manhattan, where Giuliani’s law firm is located.

The suspension, ordered the day before his 52nd anniversary as a licensed attorney in New York, was requested by the Attorney Grievance Committee for the First Judicial Department.

Giuliani’s suspension is temporary pending the outcome of a full formal disciplinary hearing.

Giuliani criticized in an interview with NBC News outside his apartment in the Upper East Side that it was “ridiculous” that he would be disciplined without such a hearing.

“Everything I said [the election] comes from one witness, sometimes from two or three witnesses, ”said Giuliani. “I have affidavits from you. I have video, I have audio. And instead of looking at it, listen to the Democrats’ false allegations. “

However, the court’s order states that “the preliminary suspension is a serious remedy, available only in situations where there is an immediate need to protect the public from” violations of the professional code by a lawyer.

The court flatly denied Giuliani’s claims that the investigation into his conduct in representing Trump after the 2020 election violated his right to freedom of expression in the First Amendment.

“We conclude that there is undisputed evidence that the defendant, in his capacity as attorney for former President Donald J. Trump and the Trump campaign in connection with Trump’s failed re-election attempt, has made demonstrably false and misleading statements to courts, lawmakers and the made public in 2020 ”, it says in the order.

The court also said that Giuliani’s “false statements were made to inappropriately support respondent’s account that widespread electoral fraud stole his client’s victory in the 2020 presidential election in the United States”.

“We conclude that the defendant’s conduct immediately jeopardizes the public interest and warrants a temporary suspension of the legal practice pending further proceedings before the attorney’s complaints committee.”

Examples of conduct cited in the warrant included Giuliani’s repeated false claims to a Pennsylvania federal judge after Election Day that Trump’s campaign “pursued an allegation of fraud” in an election-related lawsuit “when it was undeniably not the case. “

Instead, according to the order, the campaign raised an equivalent claim to protection that was “not based on fraud at all”.

Another example cited by the order was the repeated assertion by Giuliani, in an effort to discredit election results, that “the dead in Philadelphia ‘voted'”.

Giuliani claimed at various times that the ballot papers of 8,021 dead were cast, “while he also gave the figure as 30,000”.

“As an anecdotal figurehead to prove this point, he repeatedly stated that the famous heavyweight boxer Joe Frazier continued to vote years after his death.

Indeed, the ruling added, “The public records filed on this motion clearly show that the defendant’s testimony is false. Public records show that Pennsylvania formally suspended Mr. Frazier’s voting rights on February 8, 2012, three months after his death. “

Giuliani had also falsely claimed on several occasions that Pennsylvania had received more postal ballot papers than the state sent out prior to the election.

In response to the court’s inquiry, the ruling stated that Giuliani had “not denied that his factual statement that only 1.8 million postal ballots had been requested was untrue”.

“His defense is that he did not knowingly make this false statement,” the order reads. “Respondent claims he relied on an unidentified member of his’ team ‘who’ accidentally picked up information from the Pennsylvania website that incorrectly listed the information.”

But the court found, “There is simply no evidence to support this statement. For example, there is no affidavit from this alleged team member who is not by name or otherwise identified, nor is there a copy of the website that allegedly provided false information. “

In a statement, Giuliani’s lawyers said: “We are disappointed with Appeals Department’s decision to suspend Mayor Giuliani before granting a hearing on the alleged issues.”

“This is unprecedented as we believe our client is not currently a threat to the public interest,” said a statement by John Leventhal and Barry Kamins, both retired judges.

“We believe that once the issues are fully investigated at a hearing, Mr. Giuliani will be reinstated as a valued member of the legal profession which he has served so well in his many roles for so many years.”

Giuliani said in the interview outside his home: “I did not have the opportunity to be heard … how can you say I would have lied without a hearing, you did not question me.”

“If you are to say that I said something irresponsible, you have to give me a chance to defend myself … Courts cannot rule on the basis of newspapers,” said Giuliani. “I’m personally concerned about the country … only Trump attorneys are investigated.”

“Somebody has to fix this double standard justice system. I might as well be in East Germany or in Iran,” he said. I wish I were in a state that is not controlled by a party or in a city that is controlled by a party. “

Trump said in a statement that Giuliani was targeted “because he fought a fraudulent election”.

“It’s nothing like a witch hunt, and they should be ashamed,” said Trump, referring to Giuliani a “great American patriot,” “the greatest mayor in New York history,” and “the Elliot Ness of his generation.” on the prohibition agent portrayed in the television series and film “The Untouchables”.

Giuliani’s son Andrew, a former White House adviser to Trump currently seeking the Republican nomination for New York governor, said the suspension was “unacceptable” and the product of judges appointed by Democratic governors, including Governor Andrew Cuomo, whom Andrew tries to relieve.

“This goes after one of President Trump’s closest allies, and that’s exactly what it is,” said Andrew Giuliani in a video posted on his Twitter account. “I stand by my father. In the end, he did everything according to the book.”

The complaint to the Attorney Grievance Committee was filed by Manhattan Democratic Senator Brad Hoylman. “I’m happy” about the suspension, he said.

“The lawyer profession is sacred and noble,” Hoylman said in a statement. “And there can be no place in the profession for those who try to undermine and destroy the rule of law, as Rudy Giuliani has so blatantly done.”

The suspension order was issued hours before a lawyer from Giuliani appeared in Washington federal court for a hearing on his offer to dismiss a $ 1.3 billion libel suit against him by Dominion Voting Systems.

Giuliani’s claims about Dominion were cited in the suspension order.

This voting machine company accuses Giuliani of “irreparable damage” to the business while “cashing in” the “big lie” that the Trump race was stolen by widespread fraud.

Giuliani’s attorney in the case filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in April, arguing in part that Dominion’s lawsuit had not been brought in accordance with due process standards.

Dominion has filed separate, multi-billion dollar defamation suits against MyPillow and the company’s pro-Trump CEO Mike Lindell and pro-Trump attorney Sidney Powell.

Additional coverage from CNBC’s Kevin Breuninger

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Rudy Giuliani skips Dominion, Powell, MyPillow-Lindell listening to

Rudy Giuliani skips Dominion, Powell, MyPillow-Lindell hearing

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani arrives at his mansion in Manhattan in New York City, New York, on June 24, 2021 after his bar license is suspended.

Andrew Kelly | Reuters

Mike Lindell, Chief Executive Officer of My Pillow Inc., speaks to media representatives upon his arrival in federal court in Washington, DC, United States on Thursday, June 24, 2021.

Samuel Corum | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The temporary suspension came the day before Giuliani’s 52nd anniversary as a licensed attorney in New York. It will remain in force pending the outcome of a formal disciplinary hearing.

Giuliani spoke quickly. He appeared before reporters outside his home on Manhattan’s Tony Upper East Side to criticize the appellate judges’ “ridiculous” decision.

“They just listen to false allegations made by the Democrats,” Giuliani said, NBC News reported.

“If you want to say that I said something irresponsible, you have to give me a chance to defend myself,” Giuliani allegedly said, lamenting that “only Trump lawyers are being investigated.”

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But Giuliani was nowhere to be seen later Thursday when U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols heard arguments over whether three separate libel cases should be dismissed by Dominion Voting Systems.

Sibley and Arthur Aidala, another of Giuliani’s attorneys, did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment on the Dominion hearing.

Dominion argues separately in the lawsuits that Giuliani, Lindell and Powell each damaged their reputations by making dozen of false and misleading claims about the company and its role in the competition between Trump and President Joe Biden.

Sibley filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in April, arguing that Dominion’s appeal claims were not brought in accordance with the court’s due process standards.

This argument differed from one of Powell’s attorneys, who in part argued that “no sane person” would believe that their false claims and conspiracy theories about the 2020 election were “true statements of fact.”

Dominion, which operated voting machines in numerous states during the 2020 election cycle, is demanding approximately $ 1.3 billion in damages in each of these cases. Dominion has also sued Fox News for $ 1.6 billion, accusing the network of falsely claiming it rigged the election. Fox dismissed the case.

At the beginning of the hearing, Dominion attorney Thomas Clare introduced CEO Poulos, who was sitting at the legal table.

Clare followed Andrew Parker, of the MyPillow legal team, who found that Dershowitz, described as “part of the MyPillow legal team,” was there by phone.

Dershowitz, the former Harvard law professor and former Trump impeachment attorney, had previously told CNBC that he was playing an “extremely limited” role in the trial.

Parker said Dershowitz could not appear in person “because he could not travel because of an operation”.

Lindell himself was present at the hearing, according to his attorney Douglas Daniels, who specifically introduced him to Nichols. “I would like to introduce Mr. Mike Lindell to the court,” said the chairman’s attorney.

Sibley followed and said to the judge, “It’s just me.”

After him, Powell attorney Howard Kleinhendler said at his introduction, “I would also like to warn the court that Ms. Powell is here.”

This is the evolution of news. Please check again for updates.

– CNBC’s Dan Mangan contributed to this report.

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Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani not above the regulation, prosecutors say

Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani blasts investigators as federal probe heats up

Rudolph Giuliani, attorney for President Donald Trump, holds a press conference on Thursday, November 19, 2020, in the Republican National Committee on lawsuits related to the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

Tom Williams | CQ Appeal, Inc. | Getty Images

Federal prosecutors said in a court case on Friday that “the mere fact” that Rudy Giuliani is a lawyer – one who represented former President Donald Trump – does not mean that he is “above the law or immune to criminal investigation “.

The filing pushed the efforts of Giuliani’s attorneys to attack the legality of search warrants on his iCloud account in 2019 and on his Manhattan home and office last month, as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into his activities in and related to the Ukraine were issued.

Eighteen electronic devices belonging to the former Mayor of New York and Giuliani Partners employees were seized under these arrest warrants in late April.

Giuliani’s lawyers argue that finding his iCloud – which Giuliani hadn’t known about for about 18 months – may have violated his legal and client rights, and Trump’s right as president to protect his communications with his attorney.

And they say recent search warrants may be compromised by their reliance on information from iCloud search.

Another well-known Republican attorney, Victoria Toensing, has been the subject of similar search warrants.

“The warrants authorizing the search of these devices were issued by a United States district judge – this court – on the basis of a finding that there was likely reason to believe that these devices contained evidence, fruits, and instruments of certain federal crimes.” the US attorney’s office for the southern borough of New York wrote in its new filing with the Manhattan Federal Court.

Prosecutors said searching for devices and electronic accounts owned by lawyers like Giuliani and Toensing “requires special care to protect the confidentiality of attorney-client communications that may appear in search materials.”

To that end, prosecutors said they had “gone beyond these obligations” by asking a judge to appoint a so-called special master to examine the recently seized materials for potentially privileged material, which was then approved by investigators who direct the material, Criminal investigation of Giuliani would be kept away.

Prosecutors said a so-called filter team had served the purpose to review the 2019 arrest warrants for his and Toensing’s iCloud accounts.

“But to be clear, the mere fact that Giuliani and Toensing are attorneys does not mean that they are above the law or immune from criminal investigations,” the prosecutor wrote.

“But that is exactly what Giuliani and Toensing argue in their motions: because they are lawyers, the enforcement of search warrants against them has been illegal and inappropriate, and as such they are entitled to the extraordinary and unprecedented means of converting a legitimately issued search warrant into subpoena so they can review their own materials and decide what the government will see. That is not the law and their applications should otherwise be denied, “the file said.

The prosecution argued in the filing that a judge should reject requests by Giuliani and Toensing to unseal the affidavits submitted to obtain the arrest warrants.

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Giuliani’s attorney Arthur Aidala pushed back against prosecution filing.

“According to the government, they are alluding to the fact that Mr Giuliani argues that he is above the law,” Aidala wrote in a text message to CNBC.

“Nobody says Mayor Giuliani is above the law,” Aidala wrote.

“However, the government has a duty to follow the specific procedures that must be followed when examining material obtained from a lawyer using a search warrant rather than issuing a subpoena.”

Aidala added: “Every attorney has legal and client rights that he must protect on behalf of his clients.”

“That privilege is doubled when the attorney’s client is the President of the United States, who also has executive privilege,” Aidala said.

Giuliani played a key role in attempting to gather harmful information about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter in connection with their business dealings in Ukraine. At the time, Biden was preparing to run for president and was widely viewed as Trump’s most viable Democratic challenger.

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Firing of U.S. Ambassador Is at Middle of Giuliani Investigation

Firing of U.S. Ambassador Is at Center of Giuliani Investigation

Two years ago, Rudolph W. Giuliani finally got what he was looking for in Ukraine: the Trump administration removed the U.S. ambassador there, a woman Mr. Giuliani believed had hampered his efforts, the Biden family to pollute.

It was a Pyrrhic victory. Mr Giuliani’s urge to oust Ambassador Marie L. Yovanovitch not only became the focus of the first impeachment trial against President Donald J. Trump, but has now landed Mr Giuliani on the crosshairs of a federal criminal investigation into whether he broke lobbying- Laws according to information provided by persons with knowledge of the matter.

The long-running investigation reached a turning point this week when FBI agents seized phones and computers from Mr. Giuliani’s Manhattan home and office. At least one of the arrest warrants looked for evidence related to Ms. Yovanovitch and her role as ambassador.

In particular, federal agencies should search the electronic devices for communications between Mr Giuliani and Trump administration officials about the ambassador before she was removed in April 2019, one of the people added.

The warrant also sought its communication with Ukrainian officials who partnered with Ms. Yovanovitch, including some of the same people who at the time helped Mr. Giuliani seek harmful information about President Biden, who was then a candidate, and his family. said the people.

For the investigators, it is a key question: Did Mr. Giuliani persecute Ms. Yovanovitch solely on behalf of Mr. Trump, who was his client at the time? Or did he do so on behalf of the Ukrainian officials who wanted her removed for their own reasons?

It is against federal law to lobby the United States government on behalf of foreign officials without registering with the Department of Justice, and Mr Giuliani has never done so.

Even if the Ukrainians did not pay Mr. Giuliani, prosecutors could theory that they were providing help by collecting information about the Bidens in exchange for their removal.

One of the search warrants for Mr Giuliani’s phones and computers specifically stated that the possible crimes, according to those with knowledge of the matter, included violations of the law, the Law on Registration of Foreign Agents.

Mr Giuliani has long denied that he worked at the behest of the Ukrainians or that he accepted money from them, and he has said that he did not specifically ask Mr Trump to dismiss the ambassador.

Mr. Giuliani’s work to oust Ms. Yovanovitch was part of a larger effort to attack Joseph R. Biden Jr. and tie him to the corruption in Ukraine, much of which was happening in public.

But intelligence officials have long warned that Mr Giuliani’s work in Ukraine was entangled in Russia’s efforts to spread disinformation about the Biden family in order to weaken Mr Trump’s electoral rival.

The FBI stepped up its warnings about disinformation in Russia ahead of the 2020 election, including a defensive briefing to Mr. Giuliani, and warned him that some of the information he shared with the Biden family was due to the disinformation efforts of Russian intelligence agencies spread, affected a person who was informed of the matter.

The FBI’s defense intelligence is given by its counterintelligence officers and is separate from the criminal investigation into Mr. Giuliani’s activities. The defensive briefing was reported by the Washington Post earlier Thursday.

But the warnings to Mr Giuliani are not surprising. Senior officials warned Mr Trump in late 2019 that Mr Giuliani was promoting Russia’s disinformation, and intelligence services warned the American public that Moscow intelligence services were trying to hurt Mr Biden’s chances of voting by providing information about his family’s work in the Ukraine spread.

On Wednesday, after FBI agents seized his equipment, Mr. Giuliani again denied any wrongdoing. He said the search warrants exhibited “corrupt double standards” on the part of the Justice Department, accusing the Justice Department of ignoring “apparent crimes” by Democrats, including Mr Biden.

When asked about the search warrants Thursday, Mr Biden told NBC’s “Today” show that he “had no idea this was going on”. He said he had pledged not to interfere in Justice Department investigations.

Mr Giuliani’s lawyer, Robert J. Costello, said his client had offered to answer the prosecutor’s questions twice, with the exception of those relating to Mr Giuliani’s privileged communications with the former president.

The arrest warrants do not accuse Mr Giuliani of wrongdoing, but underline his legal danger: they indicate that a judge has found that investigators likely have reason to believe that a crime has been committed and that they are seeking evidence of that crime would result.

The investigation arose out of a case against two Soviet-born businessmen who helped Mr. Giuliani find harmful information about Mr. Biden and his son Hunter. At the time, Hunter Biden was serving on the board of directors of an energy company doing business in Ukraine.

In 2019, Manhattan businessmen Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman were indicted along with two others for crimes related to campaign finance. A trial is planned for October.

During the investigation into Giuliani, federal prosecutors focused on the steps he took against Ms. Yovanovitch. Mr Giuliani has confirmed that he provided Mr Trump with detailed information about his allegation that it was obstructing investigations that could benefit Mr Trump and that Mr Trump put him in touch with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

After several abandoned attempts to remove her, Ms. Yovanovitch was finally removed as ambassador in late April 2019 and was told that the White House had lost confidence in her.

Mr Giuliani said in an interview in late 2019 that he believed that the information he provided to the Trump administration contributed to Ms. Yovanovitch’s dismissal. “You’d have to ask them,” he said of the Trump officials. “But they relied on it.” He added that he had never specifically asked for her to be fired.

Prosecutors have also investigated Mr Giuliani’s relationship with Ukrainians who had conflicts with Ms. Yovanovitch, according to knowledgeable people. As an ambassador, Ms. Yovanovitch had targeted corruption in Ukraine and brought her some enemies.

The investigation focused on one of her opponents, Yuriy Lutsenko, who at the time was the top prosecutor in Ukraine. At least one of the search warrants for Mr Giuliani’s equipment mentioned Mr Lutsenko and some of his staff, including one who introduced him to Mr Giuliani.

The relationship had the potential to become symbiotic.

Mr. Lutsenko wanted Ms. Yovanovitch removed and as the President’s personal lawyer, Mr. Giuliani was able to help. Mr. Giuliani wanted negative information about the Bidens and, as the chief prosecutor in Ukraine, Mr. Lutsenko would have had the authority to announce an investigation into Hunter Biden’s dealings with the energy company. Mr. Giuliani also viewed Ms. Yovanovitch as insufficiently loyal to the President and as an obstacle to the investigation.

Mr. Lutsenko hinted at a possible consideration in text messages released during the impeachment proceedings. In March 2019, Mr Lutsenko wrote in a Russian-language text message to Mr Parnas that he had found evidence that could harm the Bidens. Then he added, “And you can’t even overthrow an idiot,” in an obvious reference to Ms. Yovanovitch, followed by a frowned emoji.

At around the same time, Mr. Giuliani was in negotiations to also represent Mr. Lutsenko or his agency, as the New York Times previously reported. Draft retention agreements requested Mr. Giuliani to receive hundreds of thousands of dollars to help the Ukrainian government recover money it believed had been stolen and stowed overseas.

Mr Giuliani signed one of the retention agreements but said he ultimately did not take over the job as representing Mr Trump at the same time could create a conflict of interest.

When Ms. Yovanovitch testified during Mr. Trump’s impeachment negotiations in late 2019, she informed lawmakers that she had minimal contact with Mr. Giuliani during her tenure as ambassador.

“I don’t know Mr Giuliani’s motives for attacking me,” she said. “But people who have been mentioned in the press and who have contact with Mr. Giuliani may have believed that their personal and financial ambitions were affected by our anti-corruption policies in Ukraine.”

Julian E. Barnes contributed to the coverage.

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Rudy Giuliani condominium searched by federal investigators in probe of Trump lawyer

Rudy Giuliani apartment searched by federal investigators in probe of Trump lawyer

Federal investigators carried out search warrants on Wednesday morning in the home and office of Rudy Giuliani in Manhattan, former New York City mayor who was former President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, NBC News reported.

The searches were part of a criminal investigation into Giuliani’s business in Ukraine, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing three people with knowledge of the matter.

FBI agents were taken to Giuliani’s apartment by his doorman, a source close to the former mayor told CNBC.

Outside of Rudy Giuliani’s home in New York, April 28, 2021.

And manganese | CNBC

They handed Giuliani an arrest warrant and requested “all electronic devices,” the source said.

Giuliani gave them a cell phone, iPad, and laptop, according to the source. The agents left after about 45 minutes, the source added. The arrest warrant for Giuliani’s office also authorized the seizure of electronic devices.

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A source told NBC that FBI agents had also executed a search warrant in the home of Republican attorney Victoria Toensing near Giuliani, near Washington.

Toensing, who is married to and works with former top Washington, DC prosecutor Joseph diGenova, represented Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash, who is himself the subject of indictment in the United States.

The source said no other arrest warrants other than those against Toensing and Giuliani were carried out on Wednesday.

The diGenova-Toensing law firm released a statement early Wednesday evening saying it was not a target in the investigation.

“Ms. Toensing is a former federal prosecutor and an official of the Ministry of Justice. She has always behaved and her legal practice according to the highest legal and ethical standards,” the statement said. “She would have liked to hand over all relevant documents. All they had to do was ask. Ms. Toensing was informed that she is NOT a target of the investigation.”

Giuliani is a retired United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, the same bureau that is investigating him.

The New York prosecutor’s office last year obtained approval from top Justice Department officials to request a search warrant for Giuliani’s electronic communications, NBC reported.

A source familiar with the investigation told NBC on Wednesday that prosecutors had sufficient grounds to obtain a search warrant late last year.

But the source said it was “just a matter of timing,” suggesting the Department of Justice – which oversees individual US law firms – may want to wait until the Trump administration ended in January.

A Giuliani attorney, Robert Costello, said authorities arrived at the Upper East Side apartment at 6 a.m. and confiscated electronic devices during the search, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The investigation is investigating possible violations of foreign lobbying rules, and the search warrant looked for communications between Giuliani and others, including conservative columnist John Solomon, Costello told The Journal.

Costello called the search “Legal Thuggery,” according to The Journal.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, speaks in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on November 7, 2020.

Eduardo Munoz | Reuters

Giuliani tweeted Wednesday that he would be making a live statement on WABC-AM radio in New York at 3 p.m. ET. But he didn’t appear on that station as planned, and the show, hosted by Dominic Carter at the time, was discussing the Mayor’s race in New York City.

Giuliani also deleted his tweet.

In a detailed statement to NBC late Wednesday, Costello accused the Justice Department of “corrupt double standards” and compared his treatment of Giuliani to “high-ranking Democrats whose blatant crimes are ignored, such as Hilary Clinton, Hunter Biden and Joe Biden.”

Costello’s statement also alleged that the extracted materials were “loaded” with information that is protected under the rights of an attorney or client.

A Trump spokesman did not immediately respond to CNBC’s comments. The Justice Department and a spokesman for the SDNY declined to comment.

Giuliani attempted to gather harmful information about Hunter Biden in connection with the younger Biden’s business relationships in Ukraine in 2019.

Efforts by Giuliani, Trump, and others in his orbit to pressure Ukrainian officials to investigate the Bidens – or at least announce an investigation – prompted House Democrats to indict the former president for the first time. Democrats argued that Trump’s re-election ambitions sparked the dirt-seeking efforts.

The Senate, which was held by Republicans at the time, acquitted Trump.

Prosecutors in Manhattan were known to be reviewing Giuliani’s bank records in connection with an investigation into his activities in Ukraine.

Giuliani responded to the investigation last winter, claiming in an angry tweet that federal investigators were acting as “secret police” to aid Biden.

“You want to confiscate my e-mails. No reason. No wrongdoing. Attorney-client privilege.?” Giuliani tweeted on December 22nd.

The search was the second time SDNY investigators raided the property of someone who was serving as Trump’s attorney.

The first was Michael Cohen, whose office and home were raided three years ago this month.

Cohen, once a Trump loyalist, later turned on his former boss and pleaded guilty to several crimes related to the ex-president and the Trump organization. Trump and Giuliani both annoyed Cohen after his plea in November 2018.

Cohen is currently partnering with an ongoing criminal investigation into Trump and his business conducted by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, Cyrus Vance Jr. This investigation focuses, among other things, on possible banking and insurance fraud related to Trump Organization real estate assets.

In a tweet on Wednesday, Cohen responded enthusiastically to news of the raid on Giuliani’s property.

“Here we go people !!!” Cohen tweeted.

Andrew Giuliani, the son of the former mayor and former Trump administration official, told CNN last week that he would be traveling to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida to meet with the ex-president Discuss New York gubernatorial offer.

Andrew Giuliani speaks to the press outside the home of his father Rudy Giuliani, former President Donald Trump’s personal attorney and former Mayor of New York City, after the FBI issued a search warrant in Manhattan, New York City, United States, April 28, 2021 .

Tayfun Coskun | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

Meanwhile, in Manhattan, journalists and spectators were still gathered in front of Rudy Giuliani’s apartment building early Thursday evening when “It’s the Hard Knock Life” from the musical “Annie” was blown from a nearby car.

A passing man asked who the crowd was waiting for. “Steve Bannon,” one woman replied jokingly, referring to Trump’s former top advisor and campaign manager. Before stepping down, Trump pardoned Bannon, who had been on federal charges.

When he was told that the reporters and photographers were waiting for Giuliani, the man cracked: “Giuliani was attacked today? Over time.”

– CNBC’s Amanda Macias and Shepard Smith contributed to this report.

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NAACP sues Trump, Giuliani, alleging conspiracy to incite Capitol riot

NAACP sues Trump, Giuliani, alleging conspiracy to incite Capitol riot

President Donald Trump looks on at the end of his speech during a rally to contest the certification of the results of the 2020 US presidential election by the US Congress on January 6, 2021 in Washington, USA.

Jim Bourg | Reuters

The NAACP and Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, sued former President Donald Trump, his lawyer Rudy Giuliani and two right-wing groups on Tuesday for plotting to incite the fatal Jan 6 Riots in the US Capitol.

The lawsuit, which is likely to include other Democratic lawmakers, cites the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, which accused the defendants of conspiring to prevent Congress from electing Joe Biden to confirm to president.

This law was passed 15 years after the end of the civil war in response to the violence of the racist KKK and its intimidation of South Congressmen.

In addition to Trump and Giuliani, defendants in the U.S. District Court in Washington, DC include the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers groups, members of which were known to be among the thousands of people who broke into the Capitol last month.

The lawsuit comes three days after Trump was acquitted of instigating the uprising in his second Senate impeachment trial. Only seven Republicans voted to condemn Trump.

Trump had said without evidence for months before election day that the 2020 presidential contest would be fraudulent. He spent two months after his loss to Biden falsely claiming that he won the election and that there was widespread election rigging that passed the official results on to the Democrats.

On January 6, shortly before the Capitol invaded, Trump, Giuliani, and other speakers at a rally outside the White House encouraged supporters to oppose the confirmation of Biden’s victory by a joint congressional session, which is usually a formality.

In a press release announcing the lawsuit, the NAACP said: “The uprising was the result of a carefully crafted plan by Trump, Giuliani, and extremist groups like the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, all of whom shared the common goal of using intimidation. Harassment and Threats to Stop Electoral College Certification. “

“They succeeded in carrying out their plan. After seeing the Capitol police barricade the doors of the house’s chamber with furniture, Congressman Thompson and other lawmakers put on gas masks and were taken to the Longworth House office block to take them.” More than 200 other representatives, employees and staff members sought protection. “

The lawsuit accuses the defendants of a coordinated plan to undermine the democratic electoral process and block the legal votes on millions of ballots cast by black Americans.

“January 6th was one of the most shameful days in our country’s history and was instigated by the president himself,” Thompson said in a statement.

“His joyful support of violent white supremacists resulted in a rupture of the Capitol that put my life and that of my colleagues in grave danger. It is a coincidence that the outcome was no more fatal. While the majority of Republicans in The Senate have a responsibility to holding the president accountable has been given up. We must hold him accountable for the uprising he has so obviously planned. “

Thompson added that the failure to hold the defendants accountable “invites this kind of authoritarianism to the right-wing anti-democratic forces so intent on destroying our country.”

Jason Miller, a Trump spokesman, said in a statement: “President Trump was acquitted in the recent Democratic witch hunt and the facts are irrefutable.”

“President Trump did not plan, produce or organize the January 6 rally on the Ellipse. President Trump did not instigate or conspire violence in the Capitol on January 6,” Miller said.

He added that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., “And Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, have to answer questions about why they turned down additional Security and National Guard assistance in the run-up to Jan. 6. “

Giuliani did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani blasts investigators as federal probe heats up

Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani blasts investigators as federal probe heats up

Rudolph Giuliani, attorney for President Donald Trump, will hold a press conference on Thursday, November 19, 2020, in the Republican National Committee on lawsuits related to the 2020 presidential election result.

Tom Williams | CQ Appeal, Inc. | Getty Images

President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, protested against the prosecutors investigating him on Tuesday, proposing to act as a “secret police” and serve the political interests of President-elect Joe Biden.

Giuliani’s Twitter rant against the Justice Department came a day after NBC News reported that New York prosecutors are seeking permission from senior DOJ officials to request a search warrant from a judge for Giuliani’s electronic communications.

On the same day, judges at the US District Court in Manhattan officially appointed Audrey Strauss as the chief federal prosecutor’s office in the southern borough of New York, effective January 16.

Strauss, who oversees the Giuliani investigation, has been serving as acting U.S. attorney for the SDNY since last summer when her predecessor Geoffrey Berman was evicted.

Sources told NBC that the SDNY’s investigation into Giuliani was “very active”.

“I am proud to be number one on the Biden Vindictive government list,” Giuliani wrote in a tweet.

“Sounds like the anti-Trumpers of the DOJ can’t wait for Biden to make the DOJ the GOVERNMENT secret police, like they’re under Obama,” he added.

“You want to confiscate my e-mails. No reason. No wrongdoing. Attorney-client privilege.?”

A representative from Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It is not known exactly why SDNY prosecutors are investigating Giuliani, who is currently leading Trump’s extremely far-reaching efforts to reverse the Biden Electoral College victory.

Giuliani, a former New York City mayor, was previously a US attorney for the SDNY and had also served as the DOJ’s chief officer.

Last year, the Wall Street Journal reported that SDNY prosecutors were reviewing Giuliani’s bank records in connection with an investigation into his business in Ukraine.

Two of Giuliani’s former employees, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, who were involved in its dealings in Ukraine, were arrested in October 2019 on charges of campaign funding fraud filed by the SDNY.

Giuliani, as Trump’s attorney, has been trying to gather harmful information about Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden in connection with Hunter Biden’s business activities in Ukraine for at least last year.

Giuliani’s efforts were widely viewed as an attempt to harm Biden’s then candidacy for president in early 2019.

But those efforts failed spectacularly in the summer of 2019 when Trump personally pressured the Ukrainian president to announce an investigation into the Bidens.

At the time, Trump withheld the military aid appropriated by Congress to Ukraine, which was embroiled in a dispute over the territory with its neighbor Russia.

Trump was charged by the House of Representatives for his actions. The Senate later acquitted him after a trial earlier this year.

Trump and his company are under investigation by the Manhattan Attorney’s Office, which is a government agency.

The DA office has an arrest warrant that allows him to obtain Trump’s tax records and other financial documents from his long-time accounting firm.

The President has asked the US Supreme Court to block this subpoena for the second time.

The Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that Trump did not have a full right as president to avoid his financial records from being subpoenaed by prosecutors.

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Dominion Voting warns Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani of litigation

Dominion Voting warns Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani of litigation

President Donald Trump’s attorney and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks to journalists outside the West Wing of the White House on July 1, 2020 in Washington, DC.

Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images

President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and White House attorney Pat Cipollone have reportedly received letters from defamation attorneys instructing them to keep all records relating to allegations that the Dominion Voting Systems were operating played a key role that Trump allegedly cheated out of an election victory.

Giuliani was also warned by Dominion’s lawyers that “litigation regarding these issues is imminent,” according to a new report from CNN shown a copy of the letter.

The letters to Cipollone and Giuliani reportedly requested that Giuliani stop “making defamatory claims against Dominion,” leading to voting machines.

Trump, his campaign attorneys and allies, including attorney Sidney Powell, have alleged without evidence that illegal voting changes on election counting machines fraudulently passed the national presidential election on to Joe Biden.

Powell received a similar letter from Dominion’s attorneys last week about their “wild, knowingly baseless, and false allegations” about the company. The letter requested that she withdraw her claims and keep related documents.

Giuliani and a White House spokesman had no immediate comment when contacted by CNBC about CNN’s report. CNBC has contacted Dominion and its attorneys for comment.

The article followed a lawsuit brought by Dominion’s Director of Security, Eric Coomer, against the Trump campaign, Giuliani, Powell and a range of conservative media outlets.

Coomer’s lawsuit alleges that he has been the target of death threats and other harmful communications because of the defendants’ false claims about Dominion’s machines.

Dominion has posted a page on its website titled “Setting the Record Out: Facts and Rumors” addressing allegations about the company calling it “disinformation” and a threat to democracy.

“Baseless claims about the integrity of the system or the correctness of the results have been rejected by electoral authorities, subject matter experts and outside fact-checkers,” the site says.

“Malicious and misleading false claims about Dominion have created dangerous threats and harassment to the company and its employees, as well as to election officials.”

Biden was confirmed as the election winner by the electoral college last week. Trump has refused to admit defeat.