While Giuliani Was Pushing Ukrainian Conspiracy Theories He Was Also Pursuing Highly-Lucrative Ukrainian Business Deals

Rudy Giuliani‘s interest in Ukraine was far broader and far more potentially important to him than has been previously understood. The New York Times reveals that while the president’s personal attorney was pushing false conspiracy theories and pressuring that country to deliver what his boss wanted, he was also pursuing lucrative business deals on the side, even with Ukrainian officials, potentially worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“Prosecutors and F.B.I. agents in Manhattan are examining whether Mr. Giuliani was not just working for the president, but also doing the bidding of Ukrainians,” The Times reports.

Working for the Ukrainians without registering as a foreign agent might possibly be a violation of federal law, depending on the circumstances. It has been widely reported Giuliani and his business are tied to or the subject of multiple federal investigations, including at least one criminal investigation. He has not been formally accused of any wrongdoing.

The Times reports it interviewed Giuiani and examined several documents, one of which was “a proposal signed in February by Mr. Giuliani,” which “called for the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice to pay his firm $300,000. In return, Mr. Giuliani would help the government recover money it believed had been stolen and stashed overseas.”

Another called for Ukraine’s top prosecutor, Yuriy Lutsenko “to pay $200,000 to retain Giuliani Partners, Mr. Giuliani’s firm, and a husband-and-wife legal team aligned with Mr. Trump, Joseph E. diGenova and Victoria Toensing.”

There was also “at least one retainer agreement, on his company letterhead, that he signed,” but the Tiumes reports none of the deals went through, according to Giuliani.

“I never received a penny,” Giuliani claimed.