Justice Department reviewing information from Giuliani on Ukraine
WASHINGTON — Attorney General William Barr said Monday the Justice Department is taking information that President Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani is gathering in Ukraine about the president’s Democratic rival Joe Biden and his son.
But Barr cautioned that federal officials have “to be very careful” with information coming from Ukraine. The attorney general’s comments came a day after Sen. Lindsey Graham said Barr told him the department had “created a process that Rudy could give information and they would see if it’s verified.”
“The DOJ has the obligation to have an open door to anybody who wishes to provide us information that they think is relevant,” Barr said. “But as I did say to Senator Graham, we have to be very careful with respect to any information coming from the Ukraine. ... We can’t take anything we received from Ukraine at face value.”
The prospect that Giuliani is providing potentially damaging information about one of the president’s political rivals to the Justice Department while Giuliani is under federal investigation is likely to deepen criticism from Democrats that Barr acts more like the president’s personal lawyer than the attorney general.
Federal prosecutors in New York are investigating Giuliani’s business dealings, including whether he failed to register as a foreign agent, according to people familiar with the matter. They spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Giuliani also was a main character in Trump’s impeachment, which centered on Trump’s dealings with Ukraine’s president and whether he abused his office by seeking an investigation into the Bidens.
Giuliani has been pushing unsubstantiated corruption allegations against Biden. Speaking to Fox News on Sunday, he said he has a document that relates to Biden’s son, Hunter, along with a...