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Feds seek outside review of seized Giuliani materials

05 May 2021
Dan Ackermann

Federal prosecutors have asked that the materials seized from former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani's apartment be reviewed by a court-appointed outside expert, per a letter made public Tuesday.

Why it matters: The Justice Department typically balks at outside review, but prosecutors cited the "unusually sensitive privilege issues" and the "overt and public nature" of the search warrant as motives for the external review.

The big picture: The expert, known as a special master, will oversee a review of the records and materials seized by the FBI last week, reports Politico.

  • Giuliani objected to the search last week on the grounds of attorney-client privilege, per the Wall Street Journal.

What they're saying: “[U]nder exceptional circumstances, the appointment of a special master to review materials seized from an attorney may be appropriate,” the letter reads.

  • “Those circumstances may exist where the search involves the files of a criminal defense attorney with cases adverse to the United States Attorney's Office."

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.