Giuliani case: Judge approves appointment of 'special master' to review evidence

A federal judge granted the government's request for the appointment of a so-called “special master” to review evidence investigators seized from Rudy Giuliani’s apartment and office last month.

"The special master will expeditiously conduct a filter review of the April 2021 warrant materials for potentially privileged documents, and that review can be informed by Giuliani’s and (Victoria) Toensing’s parallel review of the same materials. The Government’s investigative team will thereafter conduct a responsiveness review of the released materials," judge J. Paul Oetken of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York wrote. The search for Giuliani’s devices had been conducted as part of a probe into Giuliani’s business dealings in Ukraine. Prosecutors said they suspected Giuliani may have violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) in lobbying on behalf of Ukraine. At heart is the possible orchestration of the ouster of then-U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch as a favor to Ukrainian interests, in exchange for damaging information about future President Biden.  Giuliani’s lawyer had not opposed a "special master" appointment but had wanted the court to hold off on moving forward before his lawyers could dispute "constitutionality and legality of the government's conduct to this point in the investigation."