Update (May 3, 2021): The Washington Post and New York Times and NBC have walked back their reports stating that then-Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani received a warning from the FBI advising him that Russia was using him as a conduit in its disinformation campaign against Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, whose business dealings in Ukraine were central to Trumpland’s efforts to take down Biden. The defensive briefing was prepared for Giuliani, NBC now reports, but was not ultimately delivered.
Earlier post:
The Washington Post reports that Giuliani received a briefing from the FBI on the matter in late 2019.
Russia reportedly laundered its disinformation by deploying individuals like Ukrainian official Andriy Derkach, whom Giuliani met with several times to discuss Hunter Biden, to rub shoulders with Trump allies and feed them false allegations about Biden using his position as vice president to shield his son from investigation in Ukraine.
The New York Times confirmed the Post’s report on the briefing.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), who led the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s investigation into Hunter Biden, received the same warning from the FBI, according to the Post.
However, Giuliani apparently ignored the FBI’s warning and continued to push the bogus conspiracy theories in an effort to help his then-client President Donald Trump undermine Biden ahead of the 2020 presidential elections.
Now Giuliani is under federal investigation over potential violations of foreign lobbying laws in his dealings in Ukraine. He has denied any wrongdoing and claims the probe is a political hit job by the Biden administration, despite the fact that the investigation began during Trump’s presidency.
