News organizations in the legal action to unseal the documents included The New York Times, The Associated Press, and the parent companies of ABC and CBS News, CNN, the Daily News, the Wall Street Journal, Newsday and the New York Post.
U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III made the disclosure as he agreed to release in several weeks some court documents related to the search warrant that authorized last April’s FBI raids on Cohen’s home and office. Media organizations had requested access to the records.
NEW YORK — A judge confirmed in a court filing Thursday that federal prosecutors in New York are still investigating campaign finance crimes committed when President Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid two women to stay silent about alleged affairs with Trump.
It proves the president and I and all of us are innocent,” Giuliani said of the Ukraine dealings, for which the former president was later impeached by the US House of Representatives. He was later acquitted in a Senate trial.
Giuliani, once a top New York prosecutor before becoming a celebrated mayor of the city, was a personal lawyer for Trump when the president was impeached in December 2019 for allegedly using military aid to pressure the president of Ukraine for his own political gain.
In January, he was sued by a voting machine maker for $1.3bn for spreading claims after the November presidential election that its machines were part of alleged massive voting fraud that caused Trump’s loss. No significant fraud has been demonstrated in the election.
Giuliani has denied the claims. Two Ukrainian-born men, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, who helped Giuliani in those efforts, were arrested in October 2019 and charged with illegally funnelling large donations to a pro-Trump fundraising committee.
The investigation behind Wednesday’s raid suggests authorities could be honing in on allegations that Giuliani did paid work for Ukrainian government officials while he worked for Trump, a violation of US laws against unregistered lobbying for foreign entities. Giuliani has denied the claims.
Federal investigators are probing former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani's dealings in Ukraine [File: Jim Bourg/Reuters] Rudy Giuliani, the former personal lawyer of former United States President Donald Trump, has said evidence collected during an FBI raid on his home as part of a probe into his dealings in Ukraine would prove he and ...
According to reports, the FBI and the Justice Department’s prosecutor in New York had sought search warrants for Giuliani’s phones last year, but were denied that while Trump remained in office, until January 20. The FBI and the Justice Department have declined to comment on the raids or the investigation.
FBI agents reportedly raided top Trump lawyer Michael Cohen's apartment this week in search of payment records related to Stormy Daniels and documents related to ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal. (CREDIT: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Michael Cohen paid $130,000 to the adult film actress shortly before the 2016 presidential election.
Stormy Daniels is in the headlines, but Karen McDougal is a bigger problem for Trump.