‘Very Substantial Evidence’ Of Crime Had To Justify Giuliani Search, Say Experts
Reprinted with permission from Alternet
Legal experts are weighing in on the bombshell news that federal agents on Wednesday raided former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani's home and office in New York City. The New York Times, which broke the news, says the execution of the search warrants is linked to the investigation into the former New York City mayor's activities in Ukraine.
George Conway, noted attorney and spouse to former Counselor to President Trump Kellyanne Conway, says the bar for a search warrant for Giuliani had to be extremely high:
This is such an important point. The predicate for this search of the premises of a lawyer who represented a presi… https://t.co/dIb1TT7AUB— George Conway (@George Conway) 1619629004
Conway was responding to remarks from Richard Signorelli, a former Asst. U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York (SDNY), who also said:
As Chuck Rosenberg is making clear right now on @mitchellreports, the staleness doctrine requires the feds to have… https://t.co/Kjy1fB1NC0— Richard Signorelli (@Richard Signorelli) 1619628888
Los Angeles Times legal affairs columnist and former US Attorney Harry Litman says Attorney General Merrick Garland and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco had to have signed off on the search warrant applications:
Yes. Monaco too https://t.co/Y4Io1b5zWg— Harry Litman (@Harry Litman) 1619629900
Former Dept. of Justice Inspector General:
I doubt this has ever happened before — a former US Attorney having his residence searched in an investigation cond… https://t.co/gQHmeGmnky— Michael R. Bromwich (@Michael R. Bromwich) 1619629756
Former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti says the fact that the DOJ raided Giuliani's home "indicates that the criminal investigation of Giuliani is very far along."
He notes that, based on the Times' reporting, "senior political appointees in the Trump Justice Department sought to block these warrants."
And more:
10/ So one interesting aspect of this investigation is that it is related to the first impeachment inquiry. The Tr… https://t.co/QNSGTIJkKq— Renato Mariotti (@Renato Mariotti) 1619629138
NBC News and MSNBC Legal Contributor:
Conway also, with his typical sense of humor, "responded" to an old Giuliani tweet:
are in deep, deep s**t https://t.co/O9VwaNLLtn— George Conway (@George Conway) 1619628046