Money laundering, conspiracy to defraud U.S. reportedly among charges under consideration in investigation related to Rudy Giuliani


Federal prosecutors are ramping things up in an investigation related to President Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, The Wall Street Journal reports, and there may be a whole bunch of charges awaiting people involved, though it's not clear why Giuliani personally falls under the microscope.
Subpoenas have been issued to people with ties to Giuliani and his associates, Igor Fruman and Lev Parnas, as part of an investigation led by the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office and the FBI. Fruman and Parnas, two Soviet-born American businessmen who have allegedly aided Giuliani in his quest to find compromising information on Trump's political opponents in Ukraine, have already been hit with campaign finance charges, to which they've pleaded not guilty.
The latest round of subpoenas reportedly seek information on Giuliani's security-consulting firm, Giuliani Partners, which the former New York City mayor founded in 2002, and a company founded by Parnas that paid Giuliani for business and legal advice. Giuliani said he was not contacted by prosecutors himself and denies any wrongdoing.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

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.
Among the charges reportedly under consideration in the subpoenas are obstruction of justice, money laundering, conspiracy to defraud the United States, making false statements to the federal government, serving as an agent of a foreign government without registering with the Justice Department, donating funds from foreign nationals, making contributions in the name of another person or allowing someone else to use one's name to make a contribution, along with mail fraud and wire fraud. Read more at The Wall Street Journal.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Art Review: Hilma af Klint's What Stands Behind the Flowers
Feature Museum of Modern Art, New York City, through Sept. 27
-
Not just a number: how aging rates vary by country
The explainer Inequality is a key factor
-
'There will be a market incentive to build wind and solar anyway'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump administration releases MLK files
Speed Read Newly released documents on the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did not hold any new revelations, King historians said
-
Japan's prime minister feels pressure after election losses
Speed Read Shigeru Ishiba has vowed to remain in office
-
President diagnosed with 'chronic venous insufficiency'
Speed Read The vein disorder has given Trump swollen ankles and visible bruising on his hands
-
'Bawdy' Trump letter supercharges Epstein scandal
Speed Read The Wall Street Journal published details of Trump's alleged birthday letter to Epstein
-
Fed chair Powell in Trump's firing line
Speed Read The president considers removing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell
-
Trump trashes supporters over Epstein files
speed read The president lashed out on social media following criticism of his administration's Jeffrey Epstein investigation
-
Judge nixes wiping medical debt from credit checks
Speed Read Medical debt can now be included in credit reports
-
Grijalva wins Democratic special primary for Arizona
Speed Read She will go up against Republican nominee Daniel Butierez to fill the US House seat her father held until his death earlier this year