Oct 12, 2019

NYT: Rudy Giuliani under federal investigation for Ukraine deals

Rudy Giuliani on Fox Business' "Morning with Maria" on Sept. 23. Photo: Roy Rochlin/Getty Images

New York federal prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation into President Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani to determine if he "broke lobbying laws in his dealings in Ukraine," the New York Times reports.

Driving the news: Two foreign-born Trump donors who helped connect Giuliani with Ukrainian officials in his efforts to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son were arrested on Wednesday night on campaign finance charges.

What's happening: Investigators are reportedly looking at "Giuliani’s efforts to undermine" former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, who testified on Friday to 3 House committees that are investigating Trump and Ukraine and said the president pressured a top State Department official to oust her.

  • Those committees later said they subpoenaed the ambassador after the White House, through the State Department, directed her not to testify.
  • Trump replaced Yovanovitch in May in part because of former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuri Lutsenko's corruption allegations against Biden, according to the whistleblower report that alleges Trump used "the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 election."

What he's saying: Giuliani "said that federal prosecutors had no grounds to charge him with foreign lobbying disclosure violations" since he was acting on behalf of Trump and not former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuri Lutsenko when he gathered information on Yovanovitch and "relayed it to the American government and the news media," per the Times.

Where it stands: "It was unclear how far the investigation has progressed, and there was no indication that prosecutors in Manhattan have decided to file additional charges in the case," per the Times.

Go deeper: Foreign-born Giuliani associates arrested on campaign finance charges

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Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 3 a.m. ET: 5,410,228 — Total deaths: 345,105 — Total recoveries — 2,169,005 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 3 a.m. ET: 1,643,499 — Total deaths: 97,722 — Total recoveries: 366,736 — Total tested: 14,163,915 — Map.
  3. World: White House announces travel restrictions on Brazil, coronavirus hotspot in Southern Hemisphere — Over 100 coronavirus cases in Germany tied to single day of church services — Boris Johnson backs top aide amid reports that he broke U.K. lockdown while exhibiting symptoms.
  4. Public health: Officials are urging Americans to wear masks headed into Memorial Day weekend — Report finds "little evidence" coronavirus under control in most states — Hurricanes, wildfires, the flu could strain COVID-19 response
  5. Economy: White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett says it's possible the unemployment rate could still be in double digits by November's election — Public employees brace for layoffs.
  6. Federal government: Trump attacks a Columbia University study that suggests earlier lockdown could have saved 36,000 American lives.
  7. What should I do? Hydroxychloroquine questions answered — Traveling, asthma, dishes, disinfectants and being contagious — Masks, lending books and self-isolating — Exercise, laundry, what counts as soap — Pets, moving and personal health — Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — How to minimize your risk.
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Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

U.S. coronavirus updates

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios. This graphic includes "probable deaths" that New York City began reporting on April 14.

The CDC is warning of potentially "aggressive rodent behavior" amid a rise in reports of rat activity in several areas, as the animals search further for food while Americans stay home more during the coronavirus pandemic.

By the numbers: More than 97,700 people have died from COVID-19 and over 1.6 million have tested positive in the U.S. Over 366,700 Americans have recovered and more than 14.1 million tests have been conducted.

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World coronavirus updates

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Axios Visuals

Japan's economy minister outlined plans on Monday to end the nationwide state of emergency as the number of new novel coronavirus cases continues to decline to fewer than 50 a day, per Bloomberg. Japan has reported 16,550 cases and 820 deaths.

By the numbers: Over 5.4 million people have tested positive for the virus as of Monday, and more than 2.1 million have recovered. The U.S. has reported the most cases in the world (over 1.6 million from 13.7 million tests). The U.K. is reporting over 36,800 deaths from the coronavirus — the most fatalities outside the U.S.

Go deeper (2 min. read)ArrowUpdated 4 hours ago - Health