Rudy Giuliani, an adviser to former President Trump, won’t face criminal charges over his work on issues related to Ukraine, federal prosecutors said Monday, Politico reports. The investigation of Giuliani grabbed headlines last May when the FBI raided the former New York City mayor’s home and office, carrying out a court-ordered search warrant seeking evidence of violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The probe was believed to be focused on his efforts in 2019 and 2020 to prompt Ukraine to launch an investigation into the business dealings of Hunter Biden. Giuliani and Trump hoped such a probe would be politically damaging to Joe Biden, whom the Trump camp saw as the most serious potential opponent for Trump’s reelection bid.
The episode, including an attempt by Giuliani to seek the ouster of U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, spurred the first impeachment of Trump by the House. The FBI raids against Giuliani seemed to signal a grave criminal investigation, because the sign-off of senior Justice Department officials is required for searches of lawyers' premises. The probe seemed to have petered out recently. On Monday, Manhattan-based federal prosecutors overseeing the investigation told a judge there was no longer a need for a court-appointed special master to oversee the sifting of records from Giuliani’s home and office because the investigation had essentially ended. “The Government writes to notify the Court that the grand jury investigation that led to the issuance of the above-referenced warrants has concluded, and that based on information currently available to the Government, criminal charges are not forthcoming,” prosecutors told U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken.