Giuliani probe includes look at move to oust ambassador

The New York Times was first to report on the warrant’s reference to Marie Yovanovitch, who as a central player in the first impeachment case against Donald Trump detailed a smear campaign by Giuliani and other Trump allies that preceded her 2019 removal from the job.

SHARE Giuliani probe includes look at move to oust ambassador
In this Nov. 19, 2020, file photo, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks during a news conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington.

In this Nov. 19, 2020, file photo, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks during a news conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington.

AP

WASHINGTON — Federal authorities investigating Rudy Giuliani are seeking information related to a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine who was ousted from her job two years ago on orders of then-President Donald Trump, a lawyer for Giuliani said Friday.

Robert Costello confirmed via text message that a search warrant served this week on Giuliani made reference to Marie Yovanovitch, who as a central player in the first impeachment case against Trump detailed a smear campaign by Giuliani and other Trump allies that preceded her 2019 removal from the job. Costello said the warrant also referenced Ukraine’s former top prosecutor Yuri Lutsenko, who met with Giuliani and was also part of efforts to remove Yovanovitch from her position.

The fact that the warrant makes mention of Yovanovitch, and that it seeks communication between Giuliani and several Ukrainians, suggests authorities are attempting to determine whether Giuliani’s efforts to remove the ambassador were being done at the behest of Trump or of Ukrainians. That distinction matters because federal law requires anyone lobbying the U.S. on behalf of a foreign country or entity to register their work with the Justice Department.

Giuliani has denied any wrongdoing. The New York Times was first to report on the warrant’s reference to Yovanovitch.

The May 2019 ouster of Yovanovitch was one of the pivotal episodes of the Trump impeachment case, coming just months before a phone call in which Trump urged his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. Giuliani advanced those same efforts in his own discussions with Ukrainian officials, meeting with a Ukrainian lawmaker who released audio recordings during the 2020 presidential campaign in an effort to discredit Biden’s candidacy.

Yovanovitch, a career diplomat who served for decades under both Republican and Democratic presidents and was first appointed by Ronald Reagan, testified in chilling detail during the impeachment trial about a “smear campaign” against her by Giuliani and others before her firing.

Yovanovitch also told House impeachment investigators that she’d been told by Ukrainian officials that Giuliani was in touch with Ukraine’s former top prosecutor Lutsenko “and that they had plans, and that they were going to, you know, do things, including to me.”

She said she was told Lutsenko “was looking to hurt me in the U.S.”

A lawyer for Yovanovitch declined to comment Friday.

The Latest
Mayor Brandon Johnson did not commit to spending a specific amount of public money to lakefront infrastructure improvements, but vowed that whatever public money is invested, it must be committed to creating more housing and jobs and “a sustainable, clean economy.”
White Sox fans from all over will flock to Guaranteed Rate Field on Thursday for the team’s home opener against the Tigers.
Many kids in the audience came dressed up. I would recommend parents encourage it, as their youngsters will undoubtedly make new friends at intermission finding others who love the characters they do, or who identify with other ones.
They mayor made it clear he will not remove the City Council member for appearing at a rally where an American flag was burned to protest U.S. support for Israel.
Archer Courts, 2242 S. Princeton Ave., will soon get a new hot water system, ventilation system and rooftop solar panels through a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.