Judicial Watch Sues Justice Department for Records on Biden FBI Search Warrants Used in Raid on Rudy Giuliani

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice for records on the Biden FBI’s search warrants used in the April 2021 raid on former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s residence and office (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:26-cv-01158)). Giuliani served as a personal attorney and informal adviser to President Donald Trump. 

On April 28, 2021, at approximately 6 a.m., federal agents executed search warrants at Giuliani’s Manhattan apartment and his office, seizing his cellphone and other electronic devices. Agents reportedly seized additional materials, including a computer used by longtime assistant Jo Ann Zafonte. 

Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after the Justice Department failed to respond to a February 2026 FOIA request. The request, which included a signed certification of identity from Giuliani himself, seeks all records related to the April 2021 search warrants, including:

• Warrant applications, affidavits, attachments, draft versions, and approval memoranda;
• Supervisory and Main Justice approvals;
• Attorney search approvals under Justice Manual guidelines;
• Records concerning privilege review, “taint team” procedures, privilege determinations, and any special master involvement;
• Coordination with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York; and
• Emails, memoranda, briefing materials, and other communications outside formal case files discussing Giuliani, the raids, or the underlying investigation.

 According to public reports, the raid was tied to an investigation into whether Giuliani violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) in connection with his activities involving Ukrainian officials while he was seeking information related to Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden. 

Giuliani’s then-attorney Robert Costello noted that federal agents ignored Hunter Biden’s computer hard drives when they raided the apartment, contradicting the order on the warrant “to seize every electronic device in his home.”

“The Biden DOJ’s pre-dawn raid on Rudy Giuliani was a textbook example of weaponized justice — targeting a loyal advocate of President Trump’s while agents deliberately ignored Hunter Biden’s hard drives sitting in the same apartment,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “This selective enforcement exposes a corrupt two-tiered system.”

Judicial Watch is a national leader in exposing the lawfare and abuse targeting Trump and other American citizens.

In April 2026, Judicial Watch obtained records that revealed the FBI’s concerns about the legal basis for the 2022 raid of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home. The records exposed explicit objections from field agents who warned the Justice Department that the unprecedented raid on Trump’s home lacked probable cause.

In March 2026, the Justice Department reported that the FBI found about 1.9 million pages of records that are responsive to Judicial Watch’s FOIA lawsuit. These documents were reportedly stored in a “hidden room” at FBI headquarters and were first revealed by former Deputy Director Dan Bongino (Judicial Watch v U.S. Department of Justice (No.1:25-cv-04047)). 

In March 2026, Judicial Watch sued the Justice Department for records from the FBI’s Biden-era “Arctic Frost” probe, specifically involving the Criminal Division, the Office of Information Policy, Attorney General Merrick Garland, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco and Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team (Judicial Watch, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:26-cv-00746)).

In March 2026, Judicial Watch asked a Georgia state court to reject Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ efforts to continue hiding records about her office’s communications with Jack Smith’s office and the January 6 Committee (Judicial Watch Inc. v. Fani Willis et al. (No. 24-CV-002805)).

In February 2026, Judicial Watch secured the release of rosters identifying the names of top deputies who worked for former Special Counsel Jack Smith (Judicial Watch Inc. v U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:23-cv-01485)).

In January 2026, Judicial Watch sued the Justice Department for communications of FBI agents regarding the prosecution of former Trump trade advisor Peter Navarro (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Justice (No.1:26-cv-00079)).

In January 2025, a federal court ordered the Justice Department to provide Judicial Watch information on communications between Jack Smith and Fani Willis regarding the prosecution of Trump. In May 2025, the Justice Department was directed to search text messages from the Special Counsel’s Office for responsive records (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 23-cv-03110).

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