Last Updated on February 17, 2022
Robert Costello, an attorney for former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, criticized federal prosecutors from the Southern District of New York in a court filing on Monday, accusing the feds of treating Giuliani like “the head of a drug cartel or a terrorist” after they executed two search warrants on his electronic devices.
Costello made the case that federal prosecutors shouldn’t examine Giuliani’s seized electronics until they provide more information regarding the “covert warrant” they used on his iCloud account in 2019, as noted in a letter filed in a Manhattan federal court, the New York Post reported.
Costello argued the material recovered in the 2019 search was used in some capacity to secure the April 2021 search — and should therefore be reviewed to determine if anything seized violates attorney-client privilege.
Giuliani, who was unaware of the 2019 warrant, was representing former President Trump and several other high-profile figures at the time of 2019 iCloud warrant, Costello wrote.
“The validity of the 2019 covert warrant, and the handling of the information obtained by the prosecutor are serious questions that must be resolved before any further damage is done,” wrote Costello.
“The [Southern District of New York] simply chose to treat a distinguished lawyer as if he was the head of a drug cartel or a terrorist, in order to create maximum prejudicial coverage of both Giuliani, and his most well-known client – the former President of the United States.”
Costello said any allegations about Giuliani destroying evidence are not true and could harm his reputation.
“Such an allegation, on its face, strains credulity. It is not only false, but extremely damaging to Giuliani’s reputation. It is not supported by any credible facts and is contradicted by Giuliani’s efforts to provide information to the Government,” Costello wrote.
“Giuliani simply seeks a declaration and clarification by the Government of what information and material that was viewed by the Government’s taint team is not subject to any privilege,” he wrote.
Giuliani’s situation could also be compared to that of longtime Trump advisor and political strategist Roger Stone. The Justice Department is suing Stone for nearly $2 million in “unpaid” taxes dating back more than ten years ago. Stone said the charges against him are “politically motivated” and that he “will prevail again,” as National File reported.
In a statement sent to National File, Stone said the DOJ lawsuit “is politically motivated harassment by prosecutors, fuel by fury and liberal hysteria over the fact that President Trump saw the clear corruption of my trial at the hands of Robert Mueller’s thugs, and had the strength and the courage to correct this injustice by issuing me a grant of clemency and a full and unconditional pardon.”
