Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani is apparently under investigation by federal investigators for the Southern District of New York in a probe that sources claim to be “very active.” Investigators are apparently interested in Giuliani’s electronic communications. Either a search warrant or a grand jury subpoena might be used to obtain the records, but, to date, no concrete steps in either direction have been taken, nor is there any way of being absolutely sure if or when such steps will be taken.

There is also no clear picture as to why the DOJ is interested in Giuliani’s emails. The most likely hypothesis is that the investigation is related to Giuliani’s dealings with two businessmen, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, who were indicted on campaign finance violation charges late in 2019. Parnas and Fruman were arrested on a jetway at Dulles International Airport holding one-way tickets to Europe the day their indictments were made public.

Although Giuliani appears to have had nothing to do with Parnas’ and Fruman’s campaign finance violations, he has had other entanglements with the two, most notably an ostensibly non-political deal involving Ukrainian energy giant Naftogaz. Parnas and Fruman were involved in an attempt to oust the company’s CEO to further the fortunes of their own liquid natural gas venture, Global Energy Producers (GEP). To date, no one has been charged with any wrongdoing with regard to the Naftogaz deal, although the investigation is apparently ongoing.

The web doubles back on itself because GEP was a piece of the puzzle in the funneling of foreign money into the Trump campaign for which Parnas and Fruman were indicted. As to Giuliani’s involvement with GEP, his attorney told CNN in 2019 that:

Mr. Giuliani had no interest in GEP at anytime. This is quite simply a false story and I am sure counsel for Mr. Fruman will say the same thing. Someone is spending a lot of time and imagination dreaming up one false story after another.

Although there is reason to suppose that investigators have obtained probable cause for demanding Giuliani’s emails and other communications, and therefore would be able to obtain a search warrant, the path to that warrant must go through a DOJ roadblock. DOJ procedure requires that permission be obtained from Washington if an attorney’s records are to be subpoenaed. Just what the current DOJ might do with the case, especially given the recent resignation of Attorney General William Barr, is anyone’s guess. The possibility also exists that the DOJ will wait until the new administration (which is more than likely to be hostile to Giuliani) has settled into place before proceeding.

News that Giuliani is under criminal investigation has reignited rumors of the possibility of a preemptive pardon being issued by the President. That pardon, however, might well not make all of Giuliani’s legal troubles disappear, given a 2019 New York State law aimed specifically at such an eventuality. Although previously, New York has refrained from charging Presidential pardonees for crimes committed at the state level, the new law alters that policy in the event that the pardon was granted to someone with a clear conflict of interest with the President. That would include the President’s personal attorney. Although a lot of ifs are involved, the possibility does remain that a Giuliani pardon could lead to the 2019 legislation’s practical application.

Giuliani’s response was scornful, and made via Twitter:

I’m proud to be number one on Biden Vindictive government list. Sounds like the DOJ anti-Trumpers can't wait for Biden to make DOJ the GOVERNMENT Secret Police like they were under Obama. They want to seize my emails. No reason No wrongdoing Attorney-Client privilege.?

Coincidentally, on the same day as the allegations against Giuliani became public, Parnas’ attorneys filed a motion for dismissal of the campaign finance charges against their client, maintaining that he was selectively prosecuted as part of a scheme to protect the President during his impeachment trial. The motion names Giuliani as one of several people who could have been prosecuted at the same time but who were not. The possible success of the motion is another of the many question marks in the case.