A federal judge said he will order the State Department to release records on President Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and on any efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate Joe and Hunter Biden.
The move by U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, who is handling the Freedom of Information Act lawsuit brought by the left-leaning government watchdog group American Oversight, comes as controversy over impeachment grips Washington, D.C.
Cooper said during a Wednesday hearing, the State Department would have to start handing over documents related to Giuliani’s communications with the State Department within 30 days, although he hasn’t issued his formal order yet.
The documents shed light on the internal actions of the State Department at a time when the Democrat-led House is conducting much of its secretive impeachment proceeding behind closed doors, with only selective leaks of marathon testimony from the key players in the Ukraine saga.
The watchdog group requested any emails, texts, or discussions about Giuliani’s months-long mission to push Ukraine to investigate Hunter Biden’s $50,000 per month position on the board of the Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings, as well as Joe Biden’s role in the firing of Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin. Its lawsuit earlier this month also demanded information on what role numerous State Department officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, may have played in the effort to pressure Ukraine to take up investigations related to the Bidens, and the group also asked for records about the involvement of conservative lawyers Joe diGenova and Victoria Toensing in the effort. Beyond that, the group’s lawsuit encompasses any State Department communications tied to the controversy surrounding former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, who was removed from her post earlier this year.
Austin Evers, the executive director of the watchdog group, said that “the court recognized the importance of these documents and the need for the State Department to rapidly release them” and called the ruling “an important victory for the American people’s right to know the facts about Ukraine and a major setback for the White House’s stonewalling.”
The group filed other Freedom of Information Act lawsuits against the State Department later in October, which seek information on any communications related to Giuliani’s now-arrested compatriots Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, the calendars of former U.S. envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker and his interactions with Giuliani, and records of the Ukraine-related efforts taken by Energy Secretary Rick Perry. It’s possible that one or both of those cases will be combined into their first lawsuit.
In the controversial July 25 phone call, Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for a “favor,” which was to look into a CrowdStrike conspiracy theory and alleged Ukrainian involvement in the 2016 election, immediately after Zelensky expressed interest in purchasing anti-tank weaponry known as Javelins from the United States. Trump urged Zelensky later in the call to investigate “the other thing,” referring to allegations of corruption related to the Bidens. During the call, Trump urged Zelensky to speak with both Giuliani and with Attorney General William Barr, but the Justice Department has since distanced itself from Giuliani’s actions.
