Firtash Lawyers diGenova and Toensing Scored A Rare Face-To-Face Meeting With Barr
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/firtash-lawyers-digenova-and-toensing-scored-a-rare-face-to-face-meeting-with-barr
By Matt Shuham
October 23, 2019 9:56 am
Two Rudy Giuliani associates scored a rare meeting with Attorney General Bill Barr earlier this year after joining the legal team of a Ukrainian oligarch facing extradition to the United States.
The Washington Post reported Tuesday on Victoria Toensing and Joe diGenovas unusual meeting with the attorney general, citing three unnamed people familiar with the meeting. The Post reported that, in the meeting, Toensing and diGenova argued against the bribery charges that the oligarch is facing in the Northern District of Illinois for years.
The oligarch, Dmitry Firtash, has fought a lengthy battle against extradition to the United States in various courts in Austria, where he was arrested in 2014.
Barr declined to intercede in Firtashs case, in the Posts words. A Justice Department spokesperson told the Post that the Firtash case has the support of the department leadership and that we continue to work closely with the Austrian Ministry of Justice to extradite Mr. Firtash.
After the Austrian Supreme Court affirmed in June that Firtash should be extradited to the United States, Firtash changed his legal strategy.
He ditched Lanny Davis, who also represents Trumps former lawyer Michael Cohen, and brought on diGenova and Toensing, the TV-friendly pro-Trump couple who helped Rudy Giulani look for dirt that would be helpful for Trumps 2020 reelection campaign.
Toensings son, Brady Toensing, joined the Justice Department as a senior counsel in the Office of Legal Policy in June. He was previously the vice chair of Vermonts Republican Party.
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