Former President Donald Trump on Thursday morning lashed out at the Justice Department for carrying out a raid at the home and office of his longtime personal attorney Rudy Giuliani.


What You Need To Know

  • Former President Donald Trump said Thursday the raid on Rudy Giuliani's home and office was "unfair" and "a double standard like I don’t think anybody’s ever seen before"

  • While the full scope of the investigation into Giuliani is not clear, law enforcement officials said it at least partly involves his business dealings in Ukraine

  • Giuliani and Ukraine were central to Trump's first investigation after the former NYC mayor traveled there hoping to dig up dirt on Joe and Hunter Biden

  • Also in the Fox Business interview, Trump said he is “100%” thinking about running for president again in 2024

“Rudy Giuliani is a great patriot,” Trump said in a wide-ranging phone interview with Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo. “He does these things — he just loves this country, and they raid his apartment. It’s, like, so unfair and such a double — it’s like a double standard like I don’t think anybody’s ever seen before.”

Federal investigators seized electronic devices from Giuliani on Wednesday, The Associated Press reported. While the full scope of the investigation into the former New York City mayor is not clear, law enforcement officials told the AP that it at least partly involves Giuliani’s business dealings in Ukraine.

“I don’t know what they’re looking for, what they’re doing. They say it had to do with filings of various papers, lobbying filings,” Trump said before claiming, without evidence, that President Joe Biden and his son Hunter have failed to register as foreign agents.

Giuliani and Ukraine were central to Trump’s first inauguration. Giuliani traveled to the eastern European country in 2019 hoping to dig up dirt that would have tied Biden’s push to have a Ukrainian prosecutor removed to a corruption investigation involving an energy company for whom the then-vice president’s son, Hunter, was a board member. Trump was impeached on charges of abuse of power and obstruction for trying to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to open an investigation into the Bidens while withholding military aid. 

A Republican-led Senate investigation last year found no evidence of wrongdoing by Joe or Hunter Biden. 

Giuliani also led Trump's legal efforts to overturn last year's presidential election results.

Wednesday’s raid comes as the Justice Department continues its investigation into Giuliani. The probe into Giuliani’s overseas and business dealings stalled last year because of a dispute over investigative tactics as Trump unsuccessfully sought reelection, and amid Giuliani’s prominent role in subsequently disputing the results of the contest on Trump’s behalf.

“It’s a very, very unfair situation,” Trump said. “It is so terrible when you see the things going on in our country with the corruption and the problems and then they go after Rudy Giuliani. It’s very sad.”

Giuliani’s attorney, Robert Costello, accused federal authorities of a “corrupt double standard,” claiming that that the Justice Department was “running rough shod over the constitutional rights of anyone involved in, or legally defending, former President Donald J. Trump.”

Also in the Fox Business interview, Trump said he is “100%” thinking about running for president again in 2024. He also said it was “stupid” for the federal government to recommend a pause on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine amid concerns about serious blood clots, called himself “the father of the vaccine” and attacked Biden on his immigration, tax and China policies.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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