Judicial Watch Moves to Unseal the Biden Justice Department’s Warrant Records of Search and Seizure ...

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it and Victoria Toensing, a former attorney for President Donald J. Trump, filed a motion asking the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to unseal the search warrant materials related to three search warrants targeting Toensing’s iCloud account, Gmail account, and cell phone (In re Search Warrants Executed on April 28, 2021 (No. 21-mc-00425 (JPO))). The motion, filed before U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken, seeks materials related to:

•  A November 4, 2019, warrant authorizing the government to seize and search all records contained in Toensing’s iCloud account;

•  A December 13, 2019, warrant authorizing the government to seize and search Toensing’s Gmail account; and

•  An April 28, 2021, warrant authorizing the government to search the contents of the cell phone federal agents seized from Toensing at her Maryland residence.

On April 22, 2021, shortly after President Biden took office, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland issued a warrant authorizing federal agents to search Toensing’s Maryland home, including all locked and closed containers within it, to find and seize her cell phone and iPad. The warrant also authorized agents to compel Toensing to unlock the devices using her fingerprints and/or facial recognition. Agents seized her cell phone, which was then transported to the Southern District of New York, where the government obtained a warrant to search its entire contents. The seizure occurred on the same day the FBI raided the home and office of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. The warrants, applications, affidavits, and related materials remain under seal to this day, and Toensing has never been told the reasons for the searches. 

Toensing is a lawyer and legal commentator, a former federal prosecutor and Deputy Assistant Attorney General, and former Chief Counsel of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. To her knowledge, she has never been the target of an investigation. She has never been charged with any crime.

In their motion, Toensing and Judicial Watch state:

Here, Judicial Watch is investigating the potential politicization of numerous federal law enforcement agencies and whether they abused their powers to attack associates of a political opponent.

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Here, the presumption of public access clearly outweighs any countervailing factors. The records are being sought to enhance the public’s understanding of the United States’ targeting of President Trump’s attorney by the Biden administration. The public has a real interest in knowing the evidence underlying the search warrant application and whether the warrant was sought for legitimate law enforcement purposes rather than to target a political opponent’s ally. These questions cannot be examined while the materials remain sealed.

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In addition, the investigation appears to have concluded, and Toensing was never charged. There is no ongoing prosecution that disclosure could jeopardize, no witness whose safety is at risk, and no trial whose fairness could be compromised.

Toensing and Judicial Watch also have a motion pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland to unseal the materials related to the April 22, 2021, warrant used to search her home (No. 21-mj-01202-GLS).

“The Biden Administration targeted Rudy Giuliani and me as retaliation for exposing Biden family corruption in Ukraine. In doing so, the Biden DOJ and FBI created a pretextual criminal investigation of us,” said Toensing. “Justice requires that we learn the false statements used to punish us for speaking the truth.”

“The American people have a right to know why the Biden Justice Department secretly targeted President Trump’s attorney Victoria Toensing. These ‘lawfare’ search warrant records have remained hidden for years, even though Toensing was never charged with a crime,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.

Judicial Watch has taken a leading role in exposing the politicization and weaponization of federal law enforcement.  The organization recently moved to unseal the search warrant materials related to a November 18, 2024, warrant that authorized the federal government to seize the entire Google account of Michael Caputo, a longtime ally and policy advisor to President Donald J. Trump. 

The organization also previously moved to unseal the search warrant materials used in the FBI’s August 2022 raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home and to publish the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court transcripts relating to the surveillance of former Trump campaign advisor Carter Page.

In addition, Judicial Watch is currently pursuing multiple Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits for records about the investigations of other Trump allies.

In April 2026, Judicial Watch sued the Justice Department for records on the Biden FBI’s search warrants used in the April 2021 raid on former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s residence and office (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:26-cv-01158)). Giuliani served as a personal attorney and informal advisor to Trump. 

In November 2025, Judicial Watch sued the Justice Department for records concerning investigations of Mike Lindell (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 25-cv-03850)).

In March 2025, Judicial Watch sued the Justice Department and U.S. Department of Homeland Security for records regarding Christina Bobb, a former lawyer for Trump (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:25-cv-00588)). 

Ethan Leonard and Neal Brickman of the Brickman Law Group in New York, New York are representing Judicial Watch and Toenising in this matter. 

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Source: https://www.judicialwatch.org/former-trump-lawyers-phone-email/