Federal investigators search Rudy Giuliani’s NYC home

NEW YORK — Federal investigators have executed a search warrant at the Manhattan home of former US president Donald Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani, a law enforcement official tells The Associated Press.

The former New York City mayor has been under investigation for several years over his business dealings in Ukraine. Details of the search were not immediately available, but it comes as the Justice Department continues its investigation into the former New York City mayor and staunch Trump ally.

The official can’t discuss the investigation publicly and speaks to the AP on condition of anonymity. News of the search was first reported by The New York Times.

The federal probe into Giuliani’s overseas and business dealings stalled last year because of a dispute over investigative tactics as Trump unsuccessfully sought reelection, and amid Giuliani’s prominent role in subsequently disputing the results of the contest on Trump’s behalf.

The full scope of the investigation is unclear, but it at least partly involves the Ukraine dealings, law enforcement officials have told the AP.

Giuliani was central to the then-president’s efforts to dig up dirt against Democratic rival Joe Biden and to press Ukraine for an investigation into Biden and his son, Hunter — who himself now faces a criminal tax probe by the Justice Department. Giuliani also sought to undermine former US ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, who was pushed out on Trump’s orders, and met several times with a Ukrainian lawmaker who released edited recordings of Biden in an effort to smear him before the election.

A message left for Giuliani’s lawyer isn’t immediately returned. Giuliani had previously called the investigation is “pure political persecution.”