[T]o be clear, the mere fact that [Rudy] Giuliani and [Victoria] Toensing are lawyers does not mean that they are above the law or immune to criminal investigation. Yet that is effectively what Giuliani and Toensing argue in their motions: because they are lawyers, the execution of search warrants, upon them was illegal and inappropriate, and as such they are entitled to the extraordinary and unprecedented remedy of converting lawfully-issued search warrants into subpoenas, so that they can review their own materials and decide what the Government gets to see. That is not the law, and their requests otherwise should be denied.

— an excerpt from federal prosecutors’ filing in opposition to Rudy Giuliani’s attempts to contest the legality of search warrants for his iCloud account in 2019 and for his New York City home and office in April. Conservative lawyer Victoria Toensing was the subject of similar search warrants. “In the government’s submission, they allude to the fact that Mr. Giuliani is arguing he is above the law,” noted Arthur Aidala, Giuliani’s lawyer. “No one is saying Mayor Giuliani is above the law.”

Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.