The larger narrative Durham describes lays out a practice not uncommon in politics and a world that's usually opaque to the general public -- in which campaigns traffic stories that could hurt their opponents, and sometimes try to get law enforcement to open investigations into alleged wrongdoing. At times, the research and authorities' reactions to the research will leak to the news media as part of partisan attempts to affect election outcomes.
Lawyers steeped in Washington are often involved in opposition research efforts. Justice Department officials suspected a similar effort was in the works in 2020, when Rudy Giuliani sought meetings with top Justice officials to provide documents related to Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, while providing news organizations some of the same information, according to former Trump administration officials.
Funny how they frame this as a practice not uncommon in politics and name drop Rudy.
Here's what CNN had to say about Rudy back in April-
Now, it's also worth remembering that Giuliani has yet to be charged with any crimes -- and has denied any wrongdoing. Giuliani's lawyer called the search warrant "legal thuggery" on Wednesday.
But let's be honest here: None of this looks good for Giuliani. The bar for securing a search warrant against such a high-profile figure is very high -- and that was met here. And this level of activity suggests that the investigation may well be moving into a new and more active stage.
The Point: Giuliani will sleep less well tonight than he did last night. Or at least, I would if I were him.
The larger narrative Durham describes lays out a practice not uncommon in politics and a world that's usually opaque to the general public -- in which campaigns traffic stories that could hurt their opponents, and sometimes try to get law enforcement to open investigations into alleged wrongdoing. At times, the research and authorities' reactions to the research will leak to the news media as part of partisan attempts to affect election outcomes.
Lawyers steeped in Washington are often involved in opposition research efforts. Justice Department officials suspected a similar effort was in the works in 2020, when Rudy Giuliani sought meetings with top Justice officials to provide documents related to Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, while providing news organizations some of the same information, according to former Trump administration officials.
Funny how they frame this as a practice not uncommon in politics and name drop Rudy.
Here's what CNN had to say about Rudy back in April-
Now, it's also worth remembering that Giuliani has yet to be charged with any crimes -- and has denied any wrongdoing. Giuliani's lawyer called the search warrant "legal thuggery" on Wednesday.
But let's be honest here: None of this looks good for Giuliani. The bar for securing a search warrant against such a high-profile figure is very high -- and that was met here. And this level of activity suggests that the investigation may well be moving into a new and more active stage.
The Point: Giuliani will sleep less well tonight than he did last night. Or at least, I would if I were him.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/28/politics/rudy-giuliani-raid-ukraine-investigation/index.html