Giuliani may not get access to classified documents
new york — Rudy Giuliani, who last month joined President Donald Trump’s legal team in the Russia probe, lacks a security clearance and may find it hard to get one to see classified documents because of his work with foreign clients, legal experts said.
Former New York mayor Giuliani told Reuters in an interview on Thursday that he would apply for top secret clearance, along with another Trump personal lawyer Jay Sekulow. Trump’s outgoing White House lawyer Ty Cobb has a security clearance but no one on his outside legal team has had once since lawyer John Dowd resigned in March.
“They said they would get it right away,” Giuliani said.
Giuliani’s work as a lawyer and security and business consultant during the past 16 years has included assignments on behalf of the government of Mexico City and the Qatari state oil company.
Many of his clients have not been publicly disclosed.
The contacts could raise red flags during his background check about his susceptibility to foreign influence, according to some legal experts. The security clearances are typically issued by the US Department of Justice after FBI review.
The contacts could “cause a significant delay, if not outright denial,” of clearance, said Virginia lawyer John V. Berry, who specializes in the area.
Berry said a slow clearance may be an issue if Giuliani negotiates with U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is looking into conclusions of intelligence agencies that Moscow interfered in the 2016 US election.
Washington national security lawyer Bradley Moss said he thought Trump’s team might ultimately decide it was too much trouble to get Giuliani a security clearance. —