Report: Rudy Giuliani facing DOJ inquiry into Turkish lobbying

The Justice Department is investigating Rudy Giuliani and his lobbying work for Turkey, a person with knowledge of the matter told ABC News.

This inquiry is separate from the criminal probe into Giuliani's business dealings in Ukraine, ABC News reports, and it's unclear when it started.

In 2017, Giuliani was hired to represent Reza Zarrab, an Iranian-born businessman based in Turkey accused by the United States of money-laundering, bank fraud, and evading economic sanctions on Iran. That year, ABC News reported that Giuliani asked then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to have the case dropped; this did not happen, and Zarrab ultimately pleaded guilty.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

At the same time, Giuliani was also trying to get the Trump administration to deport cleric Fethullah Gulen back to Turkey, people familiar with the matter told ABC News. Gulen, living in self-exile in the U.S., has been accused by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of inciting a coup.

An attorney for Giuliani could not be reached for comment by ABC News, and a Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment.