Democracy Dies in Darkness

White House was warned Giuliani was target of Russian intelligence operation to feed misinformation to Trump

October 15, 2020 at 7:15 p.m. EDT
Former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani pauses while addressing Trump supporters on Oct. 12, 2020, during a Columbus Day gathering at a Trump campaign field office in Philadelphia. (Jacqueline Larma/AP)

U.S. intelligence agencies warned the White House last year that President Trump’s personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani was the target of an influence operation by Russian intelligence, according to four former officials familiar with the matter.

The warnings were based on multiple sources, including intercepted communications, that showed Giuliani was interacting with people tied to Russian intelligence during a December 2019 trip to Ukraine, where he was gathering information that he thought would expose corrupt acts by former vice president Joe Biden and his son Hunter.