RAMPED UP

Feds Sought Info on Giuliani’s Firm and Ousted Ukraine Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch: WaPo

Prosecutors reportedly conducted a new witness interview as recently as last week.

Federal prosecutors in New York contacted witnesses and sought to gather additional documents in an investigation involving President Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and his two associates earlier this month, The Washington Post reports. The U.S. attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York's (SDNY) investigation into Giuliani's activities and those of associates Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman is reportedly moving forward, with prosecutors interviewing a witness last week. Prosecutors are said to have have recently sought information related to Giuliani's consulting firm, Giuliani Partners, as well as the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch—who the three men pushed to oust.

They reportedly have also asked about two companies tied to Parnas. Parnas and Fruman both were charged with campaign finance violations late last year, and were revealed to have been central figures in an effort to dig up dirt about former Vice President Joe Biden and his son in Ukraine. Giuliani was widely seen as the ringleader of this Ukraine effort, and Attorney General William Barr recently said any Ukraine-related claims involving Giuliani would be reviewed by the Department. Barr was reportedly briefed about the SDNY investigation about a year ago, but it's unclear if he's been involved since then.