(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani filed…
The post Judicial Watch Moves to Unseal the Biden Justice Department’s Warrant Records of Search and Seizure … appeared first on Judicial Watch.
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(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani filed a motion asking the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to unseal materials related to two search warrants targeting Giuliani’s electronic information and telephone records. The warrants authorized the government to seize and search Giuliani’s iCloud account and obtain prospective and historical location information for two telephone numbers assigned to him (In re Search Warrants Executed on April 28, 2021 (No. 21-mc-00425 (JPO))).
Giuliani, a longtime attorney and adviser to President Donald J. Trump, served as U.S. associate attorney general from 1981 to 1983 and U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1983 to 1989. He was elected mayor of New York in 1994 and served until 2001.
The motion, filed before U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken, seeks materials related to:
1. November 4, 2019 – Warrant to search iCloud account belonging to Mayor Giuliani; and
2. April 13, 2021 – Warrant for prospective and historical location information for two telephone numbers assigned to Mayor Giuliani.
Giuliani and Judicial Watch are asking the court to unseal the materials under the common-law right of access to judicial records, the First Amendment, and Giuliani’s right to access judicial records under the Warrant Clause of the Fourth Amendment. The motion argues that the warrant materials are judicial records subject to a presumption of public access and that no compelling governmental interest justifies their continued sealing.
In their motion, Giuliani and Judicial Watch state: “Judicial Watch is investigating the potential politicization of numerous federal law enforcement agencies and whether they abused their powers to attack associates of a political opponent.”
The motion points out that “[a] similar request was previously granted pursuant to an application from The New York Times…. As Mayor Giuliani is a direct party in interest, the bases for disclosure are even greater in this instance.”
The motion argues that the presumption of public access outweighs any countervailing interests:
The records are being sought to enhance the public’s understanding of the United States’ targeting of President Trump’s attorney by the Biden administration. The public has a real interest in knowing the evidence underlying the search warrant application and whether the warrant was sought for legitimate law enforcement purposes rather than to target a political opponent’s ally.
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There is no ongoing prosecution that disclosure could jeopardize, no witness whose safety is at risk, and no trial whose fairness could be compromised.
The motion asserts that Giuliani cannot determine whether “the warrant that authorized the search was constitutionally defective without first seeing the materials …”
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 previously filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 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.
“The American people have a right to know why the federal government secretly targeted America’s Mayor Rudy Giuliani and what evidence was used to justify these searches,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “Giuliani was never charged with a federal crime, yet the government has kept the warrant materials hidden. The public should be able to see whether these extraordinary investigative measures were justified or were part of the political targeting of President Trump’s associates.”
Judicial Watch has taken a leading role in exposing the politicization and weaponization of federal law enforcement.
In August 2026, Judicial Watch and Victoria Toensing, a former attorney for President Donald J. Trump, filed a motion asking the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to unseal the search warrant materials related to three search warrants targeting Toensing’s iCloud account, Gmail account, and cell phone (In re Search Warrants Executed on April 28, 2021 (No. 21-mc-00425 (JPO))).
Judicial Watch also moved to unseal the search warrant materials related to a November 18, 2024, warrant that authorized the federal government to seize the entire Google account of Michael Caputo, a longtime ally and policy adviser to President Donald J. Trump.
The organization also previously moved to unseal the search warrant materials used in the FBI’s August 2022 raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home and to publish the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court transcripts relating to the surveillance of former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.
In April 2026, Judicial Watch obtained records revealing the FBI’s concerns about the legal basis for the raid of then-former President Donald J. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home. The records expose deep concerns within the FBI itself, including explicit objections from field agents who warned the U.S. Department of Justice that the unprecedented August 8, 2022, raid on Trump’s home lacked probable cause.
In June 2023, Judicial Watch uncovered records from the Justice Department that show top officials of the National Security Division discussing the political implications of Trump allowing CNN to use closed-circuit TV (CCTV) footage of the raid on his Mar-a-Lago home. The documents confirm that the Justice Department had asked that Mar-a-Lago CCTV be turned off before the raid.
A separate Judicial Watch lawsuit against the National Archives and Records Administration resulted in the release of records about the unprecedented document dispute between the National Archives and Trump. Click here or here to review the records.
In November 2025, Judicial Watch sued the Justice Department for records concerning investigations of Mike Lindell (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 25-cv-03850)).
In March 2025, Judicial Watch sued the Justice Department and U.S. Department of Homeland Security for records regarding Christina Bobb, a former lawyer for Trump (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:25-cv-00588)).
In August 2022, Judicial Watch sued to unseal the search warrant affidavit used to justify the unprecedented raid on the home of former President Trump.
In September 2022, Judicial Watch filed lawsuits against the DOJ for its records and the FBI’s records about the Mar-a-Lago raid search warrant application and approval, as well as communications about the warrant between the FBI, Executive Office of the President and the Secret Service.
Ethan Leonard and Neal Brickman of the Brickman Law Group in New York, New York are representing Judicial Watch and Giuliani in this matter.
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