Rudy Giuliani and Michael Mukasey can continue to represent a Turkish gold trader accused of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran, a federal judge ruled Thursday. While neither the former NYC mayor nor ex-attorney general will appear in court on behalf of the man, Reza Zarrab, they are talking with high level officials in the Trump administration and Turkish government in hopes of getting Zarrab off without trial. Judge Richard Berman had ordered an extensive inquiry into the men’s potential conflicts of interest relating to their firms’ representations of various banks and the Turkish government, and was critical from the bench of efforts to circumvent the judicial process. The conflicts, however, won’t ultimately block them from representing Zarrab, the judge ruled.

—Katie Zavadski