Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty
Years before Rudy Giuliani’s world came apart over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, the New York Attorney General’s Office briefly considered investigating the disgraced lawyer over his shadow diplomacy in Ukraine for then-President Donald Trump, according to emails reviewed by The Daily Beast.
Last week, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office received emails detailing internal discussions at the AG’s office back in early 2020 about the potential investigation—which apparently went nowhere. While these emails show that lawyers working for the AG discussed an investigation, the idea was shot down quickly, according to an agency official familiar with the matter who would only speak on condition of anonymity.
The proposed plan, laid out in a law enforcement memo dated Jan. 7, 2020, “recommends that the Attorney General open a civil investigation into whether Rudolph William Giuliani is unlawfully practicing law in violation of New York’s Judiciary and Executive Laws—as appears to be highly likely.” It suggested using Executive Law 63(12), the same sweeping authority Attorney General Letitia James is now using against Trump at his ongoing bank fraud trial.