Read on Twitter
Federal investigators searched Rudy Giuliani’s apartment this morning as part of an investigation into his possible violation of federal lobbying laws — so let’s do a quick review of what we’ve learned about Giuliani’s role in the Ukraine scandal. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/28/nyregion/rudy-giuliani-trump-ukraine-warrant.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
Giuliani’s dealings in Ukraine were at the center of the 2019 impeachment investigation, including the campaign to pressure former President Trump to fire the US Ambassador to Ukraine, Marine Yovanovitch.
Our FOIAs and litigation uncovered records showing Giuliani was in contact with then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in March 2019, in the midst of the effort to dig up dirt on Yovanovitch.
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6557889-State-Department-Records-of-Giuliani-and-Ukraine.html#document/p39/a537060
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6557889-State-Department-Records-of-Giuliani-and-Ukraine.html#document/p39/a537060
The records also show that Trump’s assistant in the Oval Office was the one that connected Giuliani to Pompeo’s office.
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6557889-State-Department-Records-of-Giuliani-and-Ukraine.html#document/p55/a537063
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6557889-State-Department-Records-of-Giuliani-and-Ukraine.html#document/p55/a537063
What was Giuliani getting in touch with Pompeo about? According to news reports, he wanted to deliver a packet of information he had compiled about Yovanovitch, including an email sent by conservative opinion writer John Solomon.
The Solomon email had been sent to Giuliani associate Lev Parnas and included an article containing conspiracy theories about the 2016 election.
That email had also been sent to one of Trump’s other attorneys, Victoria Toensing — whose home was also searched by federal agents today. https://twitter.com/maggieNYT/status/1387477505150525451?s=20
The investigators’ warrant executed at Giuliani’s apartment today reportedly sought “communications between Mr. Giuliani and individuals including John Solomon.” https://www.wsj.com/articles/rudy-giulianis-new-york-apartment-searched-by-federal-investigators-11619628650
Texts released during the impeachment inquiry show that, in the days surrounding Giuliani's contacts with Pompeo, Parnas and other Giuliani associates were in touch with contacts in Ukraine surveilling Yovanovitch.
https://www.americanoversight.org/messages-to-parnas-suggest-yovanovitch-surveillance-happened-same-week-as-giuliani-pompeo-calls
https://www.americanoversight.org/messages-to-parnas-suggest-yovanovitch-surveillance-happened-same-week-as-giuliani-pompeo-calls
Yovanovitch was removed on April 24, 2019, and US policy in Ukraine was handed off to the “three amigos” as Trump and Giuliani ramped up their campaign to pressure the Ukrainian government to interfere in the 2020 presidential election.
That campaign culminated in Trump’s infamous July 25 call to the president of Ukraine and in the withholding of US military aid.
A month after that, a senior Pentagon official sent an email regarding that military aid, writing that top officials — including Pompeo — agreed that it should be released. “Final decision rests with POTUS,” the official wrote. https://www.americanoversight.org/final-decision-rests-with-potus
We don’t know what Giuliani and Pompeo discussed in March 2019 — but we’re continuing to investigate the extent to which Pompeo and other senior Trump administration officials were involved in the pressure campaign.
