Giuliani might be trying to go around feds to cut a deal for man charged with money laundering to Iran

This week, it was revealed that the attorneys for Reza Zarrab sent a letter to the judge assigned to the case to let them know two new attorneys would be working on the case: Rudy Giuliani and former federal judge Michael B. Mukasey, who served under George W. Bush as an attorney general.

The judge in the case then demanded to know how the two men would be representing Zarrab. The attorney in the case swore that they would not appear in court, but the judge sought specific information into the role that they will be playing.

Friday, a letter to acting U.S. attorney Joon Kim the attorneys for Zarrab have refused. They will not be providing details on their involvement other than to say that they have been retained in a way that "may impact the prosecution."

Giuliani and Mukasey explained, "without protection of attorney-client or work-product privilege," that they traveled to Turkey in late February and met with President Recep Erdogan "to discuss potential ways to facilitate a resolution of the charges against the defendant in the case."

The two men also "informed this Office that Mr. Giuliani and Mr. Mukasey had sought to meet other officials in the U.S. government outside of this Office to discuss a potential disposition of the case," Kim said.

"Putting aside for the moment," continued Kim, "the curious claim that the defense hopes ... to negotiate a disposition of the criminal charges in this case without directly engaging the Office prosecuting the case, their contention that a [conflict of interest] hearing is unnecessary is both factually and legally wrong."

Giuliani was a special advisor to Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign and revealed that the only job he was interested in was Secretary of State. He was never nominated, however.

Trump spent much of 2016 attacking the Iran nuclear deal, saying that it was the "worst deal in history" and claiming he would rip it up on "day one." Just a few short months into his presidency, however, one of his closest advisors is trying to work around Trump's government to cut a deal for a man allegedly caught laundering money to Iran.