Rudy Giuliani Faces 2nd U.S. Attorney’s Investigation Over Ukraine Influence Operation

Rudy Giuliani is now also under investigation by the U.S. Attorney of the Eastern District of New York. This probe is separate from the criminal investigation led by U.S. Attorney of the Southern District concerning allegations that Giuliani illegally lobbied for the Trump administration. In that case, an FBI search of Giuliani’s property was recently conducted.

Mark J. Lesko, the acting U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn, is investigating whether Giuliani was being used as a pawn by Ukrainian government officials in the 2020 presidential election. Serious allegations of election “meddling” – a term to describe the “unduly interference” of an uninvolved party in a democratic election –  are at the forefront of the investigation.

Claims that then-candidate Joe Biden was involved in corrupt activity in Ukraine were propagated by Giuliani when he was former President Donald Trump‘s personal attorney. The allegations of Ukraine’s involvement in the election are similar to the ones made in 2016, during the presidential election that Russia was found to have meddled in. In an indictment, Robert Mueller argued the Internet Research Agency was “a Russian organization engaged in operations to interfere with elections and political processes” that “targeted” the United States. Russian operatives were believed to have impersonated American political activists on social media in order to spread misinformation.

Similarly to Mueller’s, Lesko’s investigation alleges that Ukraine spread uncorroborated information about Biden with the intent of influencing the election results – and depriving Americans of their right to democracy in their own country. Prosecutors are examining whether Giuliani was used as a stooge for Ukrainian officials in promoting disinformation about Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, as well as lobbying for the Trump administration. Giuliani could be charged with breaching the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) by influencing a United States presidential election on behalf of a foreign government and aiding in election interference.

Article by Ania Szantruczek