NEW YORK — Federal prosecutors investigating Rudy Giuliani requested the appointment of a special master to determine what material seized in an FBI raid last Wednesday on the home and office of the former New York mayor and personal lawyer to Donald Trump was covered by attorney-client privilege.
The request was filed last week but unsealed Tuesday afternoon in federal court in Manhattan. James Margolin, a spokesman for the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office, didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking additional information.
Giuliani’s lawyer, Robert Costello, said in a statement last week that agents had seized electronic devices “replete with material covered by the attorney-client privilege.” Costello had no immediate comment Tuesday about the government’s request. U.S. District Judge Paul Oetken gave Giuliani until May 10 to respond to the government filing.
Similar privilege complaints were raised after the April 2018 FBI raid on the home and office of another Trump lawyer, Michael Cohen. Trump and Cohen both filed motions raising attorney-client confidentiality, and a retired federal judge was appointed as a special master to sift through the material and determine when privilege applied.
The Giuliani searches are part of a probe by Manhattan federal prosecutors into alleged foreign lobbying work in Ukraine. Giuliani has denied wrongdoing and said he never lobbied for anyone in Ukraine.
