Investigators in Rudy Giuliani's case explained that the reason they sought a warrant for Giuliani's iCloud account was out of fear that he would destroy evidence or tamper with witnesses.
Giuliani, who's known to change phones frequently, left a voicemail in Dec. 2020 for Lev Parnas' lawyer, noting that he was getting rid of another phone. It didn't matter, the FBI already had the information from the year before.
"Mr. Giuliani's entreaty to speak with Mr. Parnas went unanswered, and it is unknown whether Mr. Giuliani actually altered or destroyed any evidence associated with his cell phone, nor why he might have felt a need to get 'rid of' his number," said Parnas's attorney, Joseph Bondy in a statement at the time.
An April NYPost report wondered if that call was a tip to investigators that Giuliani had burner phones.
New York Magazine reporter Olivia Nuzzi revealed that while meeting Giuliani for Bloody Marys, she saw, "in one hand, he clutched three phones of varying sizes. Two of the devices were unlocked, their screens revealing open tabs and a barrage of banner notifications as they knocked into each other and reacted to Giuliani's grip."
"Do you have all three phones?" Giuliani's bodyguard asked at one point in the report.
"Yeah, I got all three phones," he replied. "I gotta get down to two. I'm gonna try that tonight."
Nuzzi then realized that Giuliani had left one of the phones in the seat next to her, handing it to the bodyguard.
Giuliani's lawyers argued in a 17-page document that given he's such a "distinguished lawyer" with a "well-known client — the former president of the United States," he should be treated better. It's unclear how Giuliani's clients could determine what is or isn't admissible in court. There's also a question of whether or not Guiliani is actually Trump's lawyer as it was reported Trump was refusing to pay Giuliani for the impeachment trial, the Washington Post reported in January.
Two White House officials confirmed at the time that Trump "demanded that he personally approve any reimbursements for the expenses Giuliani incurred while traveling on the president's behalf to challenge election results in key states. They said Trump has privately expressed concern with some of Giuliani's moves and did not appreciate a demand from Giuliani for $20,000 a day in fees for his work attempting to overturn the election."
Trump is also currently refusing to help with Giuliani's legal fees fighting this case. As former New York prosecutor Preet Bharara explained, Trump "doesn't pay his own lawyers' fees," much less anyone else's.
Giuliani was triggered by the idea that he would destroy evidence. His lawyer, Robert Costello argued, "It is not only false, but extremely damaging to Giuliani's reputation. It is not supported by any credible facts and is contradicted by Giuliani's efforts to provide information to the government."
Except for previous reports about Giuliani swapping out phones.
Giuliani is under investigation for alleged violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. There's also a possibility he also violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and campaign finance laws for work that he did in Ukraine trying to craft a story to attack then-Vice President Joe Biden.
