When FBI agents raided Rudy Giuliani s home and office earlier this year, carting off his phones and computers, his lawyers expressed outrage, saying the devices seized from Donald Trump s former lawyer were potentially “replete with material covered by the attorney client privilege.”
But after a monthslong review, Giuliani's legal team has so far asked a court-appointed monitor to block prosecutors from seeing just three of 2,200 seized electronic files deemed relevant to the investigation.
The retired judge appointed to help review the seized material, Barbara S. Jones, disclosed that number Tuesday in a progress report to the court.
The document review isn't yet finished. Jones did not indicate when the privilege review might be completed but said Giuliani and his attorneys were supposed to provide results of their analysis of other materials later this week.
Sixteen of Giuliani’s devices were seized as part of a federal investigation into Giuliani’s interactions with Ukrainian figures to see if he violated a law governing lobbying on behalf of foreign countries or entities.
Giuliani is an attorney and a former personal lawyer for ex-President Donald Trump. His communications with clients are generally protected by law, though there are exceptions.
Lawyers for Giuliani, New York City’s former mayor, have said data prosecutors are seeking might include details on his interactions with Ukrainian individuals and the former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Maria Yovanovitch.
Giuliani, a onetime presidential candidate, has not been charged with a crime. He has said his activities in Ukraine were conducted on Trump’s behalf. At the time, Giuliani was leading a campaign to press Ukraine for an investigation into Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, before Biden was elected president.
