The Department of Justice is trying to put space between itself and President Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani after two of his associates with ties to Ukraine were arrested while trying to leave the United States.
A DOJ spokesman told The New York Times that Brian Benczkowski, who leads the department's Criminal Division, would not have met with Giuliani about one of his clients who was part of a bribery case had it known his two aforementioned associates were being investigated.
"When Mr. Benczkowski and fraud section lawyers met with Mr. Giuliani, they were not aware of any investigation of Mr. Giuliani's associates in the Southern District of New York and would not have met with him had they known," DOJ spokesman Peter Carr told the Times.
Those two men, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, were arrested earlier this month at Dulles Airport and slapped with campaign finance violation charges. They played key roles in Giuliani's efforts to persuade Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter for corruption.
Giuliani's activities have come under scrutiny in recent weeks as House Democrats conduct an impeachment inquiry against Trump regarding allegations that he used his office for political reasons by asking Ukraine to investigate Biden, one of his challengers in the 2020 election. The SDNY is scrutinizing Giuliani's consulting and lobbying work in Ukraine.
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