MARIE LOUISE YOVANOVITCH

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Ukraine carrying a tough anti-graft message and strong U.S. backing for the country’s response to Russian aggression.

The question of whether to serve a search warrant for Rudy Giuliani’s records had simmered inside the Justice Department last year.

The question of whether to serve a search warrant for Rudy Giuliani’s records had simmered inside the Justice Department last year.

A long-running federal investigation into Rudy Giuliani’s dealings in Ukraine has moved back into public view after federal agents seized electronic devices from the former New York mayor.

Rudy Giuliani sought to discredit the federal investigation into his dealings in Ukraine a day after agents raided his home and office.

A law enforcement official tells The Associated Press that federal investigators have executed search warrants at Rudy Giuliani’s Manhattan residence and office.

The full scope of the investigation is unclear, but it at least partly involves Giuliani's Ukraine dealings, the officials said. AdThe Foreign Agents Registration Act requires people who lobby on behalf of a foreign government or entity to register with the Justice Department. AdThe Justice Department requires that applications for search warrants served on lawyers be approved by senior department officials. Giuliani's attorney Robert J. Costello told The Associated Press he has “heard nothing” from federal prosecutors concerning Giuliani. Giuliani has said he had no knowledge of illegal donations and hadn’t seen any evidence that Parnas and Fruman did anything wrong.

On Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020, federal prosecutors brought new wire fraud charges against the associate of Rudy Giuliani, who was involved in attempts to get Ukrainian officials to investigate Joe Biden's son. Trump’s efforts to press Ukraine for an investigation of the Bidens led the House to impeach him, though he was later acquitted by the Senate. When Parnas was arrested in October 2019, Democrats in the U.S. House were seeking his testimony about his involvement with Giuliani's Ukrainian effort. Giuliani, a Republican, has said he knew nothing about illegal campaign donations. In his legal filing Tuesday, Bondy didn't offer evidence that there had been any interference by the White House in the campaign fraud investigation, which was overseen by prosecutors in New York.

NEW YORK – The teenager who recorded the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in May will be honored in December by PEN America, the literary and human rights organization. The 17-year-old Frazier will share the Courage Award with Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine who was pushed out by the Trump administration. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, PEN had postponed its annual gala from May 19, six days before Floyd's death, to Dec. 8, and will host the event online. “Darnella Frazier took an enormous amount of flak in the wake of releasing the video,” Nossel told The Associated Press. We wanted to go back and recognize and elevate this singular act.”Others being honored by PEN in December include the author and musician Patti Smith and Chinese dissident Xu Zhiyong.

NEW YORK – Lt. Col. Alexander S. Vindman, the national security aide who offered key testimony during the impeachment hearings of President Donald Trump and later accused the president of running a “campaign of bullying, intimidation, and retaliation," has a book deal. Harper announced Monday that Vindman's “Here, Right Matters: An American Story" will come out in the spring. Vindman said in a statement Monday that he hoped his book would inspire readers. Vindman, who served as an expert on Ukraine, was ousted by Trump in February from his job on the National Security Council. Alexander Vindman's wife, Rachel Vindman, appeared recently in an ad sponsored in part by the anti-Trump organization The Lincoln Project.

Ambassador to Ukraine who was forced out of her job last year by the Trump administration, is being honored by PEN America. The alleged attempt to make a foreign government investigate a political opponent led to Trump's impeachment in December on two counts by the Democratic-run House. “At a time when, for government officials, standing on principle can spell an end to a professional career, Ambassador Yovanovitch did not flinch or falter,” said Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America, said in a statement. She will be among the guests Dec. 8 at PEN's annual gala, to be held online because of the coronavirus pandemic. Others receiving awards will include author and musician Patti Smith and Chinese dissident Xu Zhiyong.

The purpose: to lure Exxon back to Venezuela after a decade's absence and inject much-needed dynamism into the OPEC nation's collapsing oil industry. But Sessions did engage in other mediation efforts in Venezuela over the next 15 months. The earlier email regarding Exxon and his connection to Rivera was not known at the time. The five-sentence message sent to Sessions' personal email address, which starts with the word eagle," is short on specifics. The U.S. Department of State would be your best resource for any information regarding contacts made with Venezuela, a spokesman said.

TOP STORIESIn the Front Row of the Ukraine DramaThe impeachment inquiry into President Trump has been moving in dramatic fashion. Subscribe to the Los Angeles Times. Oct. 1, 1910: A panorama of the ruins of the Los Angeles Times building after the bombing. Print from the former Los Angeles Times History Center. Rep. Adam Schiffs riff on Trumps Ukraine call was more truth than parody, but still unwise, says editorial writer Michael McGough.