Judge agrees to appoint 'special master' in Giuliani Ukraine probe

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Rudy Giuliani speaks to the press at the White House.

NEW YORK - A judge said Friday that he will appoint a "special master" to protect attorney-client privilege during a review of materials seized from Rudolph Giuliani and another lawyer who have represented former President Donald Trump.

U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken directed Manhattan prosecutors and attorneys for Giuliani and Washington lawyer Victoria Toensing to submit possible candidates next week for the position.

The judge rejected efforts by Giuliani and Toensing to force prosecutors to divulge more about why they seized electronic devices on April 28. Prosecutors made the unusual request for the appointment of a lawyer or "special master" to protect attorney-client privilege the day after the raids, citing the need to make it clear that materials were reviewed appropriately.

Prosecutors examining Giuliani’s interactions with Ukrainian figures and whether he violated a law governing lobbying on behalf of foreign countries or entities made the request for a "special master" almost immediately after the raids.

Prosecutors later revealed that the FBI has successfully downloaded 11 devices belonging to Giuliani and returned them to him. They said seven more devices belonging to Giuliani and his business cannot be fully accessed without a passcode and will require more time to unlock.

They said some of the devices that have not yet been unlocked belong to "certain employees" at Giuliani's firm, Giuliani Partners LLC.

Giuliani, a Republican and former mayor of New York City, has not been charged with a crime. He has said all of his activities in Ukraine were conducted on behalf of Trump. At the time, Giuliani was leading a campaign to press Ukraine for an investigation into Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, before Biden was elected president.

Toensing's law firm said after the searches that she was told she was not a target of the investigation. Investigators took a single phone belonging to her. Toensing is a former federal prosecutor and close ally of Giuliani and Trump.

Earlier this week, a lawyer in a Manhattan prosecution of two former Giuliani associates accidentally revealed that U.S. prosecutors in 2019 sought the electronic messages of two ex-Ukrainian government officials and a Ukrainian businessman as part of their probe of Giuliani’s dealings in that country.

The lawyer also revealed that prosecutors had obtained "historical and prospective cell site information" related to Giuliani and Toensing.

Prosecutors have said they obtained email and Apple iCloud accounts of Giuliani and Toensing in 2019.

Lawyers for Giuliani have challenged the April raids on the grounds that anything gathered from the 2019 search warrants was illegally obtained because investigators improperly intruded on private communications with the president during their secret inquiry