No criminal charges expected in Giuliani probe: US prosecutors

Prosecutors say they will not charge ex-Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani after probe into his dealings with Ukraine figures.

Prosecutors in New York City do not plan to bring criminal charges against Rudy Giuliani in connection with a probe into his interactions with Ukrainian figures, they have revealed in a letter to a judge on Monday.

They have said the decision was made after a review of evidence resulting from raids on his residence and law office in April 2021.

United States federal prosecutors were investigating whether Giuliani’s dealings with figures in Ukraine in the run-up to the 2020 election required him to register as a foreign agent.

Prosecutors said a grand jury probe that led to the issuance of warrants that resulted in the seizure of Giuliani’s electronic devices had concluded.

They said that based on information currently available, criminal charges would not be forthcoming.

“In my business, we would call that total victory,” Giuliani’s lawyer, Robert Costello, told The Associated Press news agency. “We appreciate what the US attorney’s [office] has done. We only wish they had done it a lot sooner.”

Nicholas Biase, a spokesperson for federal prosecutors, declined to comment on the court filing.

Sixteen of Giuliani’s devices were seized as part of a federal investigation into Giuliani’s interactions with Ukrainian figures to see whether he violated a law governing lobbying on behalf of foreign countries or entities.

An attorney and a former personal lawyer for ex-President Donald Trump, Giuliani’s communications with clients are generally protected by law, though there are exceptions.

Giuliani maintained throughout the probe that he had done nothing wrong. At the time of the filing by prosecutors, Giuliani was on a talk show and apparently unaware of the development.

The letter by prosecutors quietly ends a probe that was revealed with much fanfare last year when federal agents were seen carting off computers and cellphones in Manhattan searches.

Shortly afterward, prosecutors said the FBI had successfully downloaded 11 devices and returned them to Giuliani, but needed more time to unlock seven others.

The letter on Monday was prompted in part by the need for prosecutors to tell a judge that a former federal judge who had overseen a privilege inspection of the electronic devices, to see what had to be excluded from review by criminal prosecutors, was no longer needed.

Meanwhile, Giuliani remains a target of a special grand jury in Atlanta investigating attempts by Trump and others to overturn the former president’s 2020 election defeat in the US state of Georgia. Giuliani testified before the grand jury in August.