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Federal law requires American citizens to disclose to the Justice Department any contacts with the government or media in the United States at the direction or request of foreign politicians, government officials or state-controlled companies, regardless of whether they pay for the representation. Prosecuting violations of the law, the Foreign Agents Registration Act, has become a growing priority for the Justice Department.

Beyond the legal issues, the appearance that Mr. Giuliani has been profiting from his role working for the president has raised ethical questions about his conduct.

In the case of his recent meeting at the Justice Department, Mr. Giuliani declined to identify the client or subject covered, saying, “None of your business.” He said he was one of several lawyers working on the case who attended.

“It’s a completely privileged meeting,” he said, “but it was a perfectly appropriate meeting.”

Mr. Giuliani requested the meeting to discuss a case related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which bars Americans from bribing foreign officials, according to people familiar with the meeting. They said it was attended by Brian A. Benczkowski, the assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

A former federal prosecutor and mayor of New York who built an international consulting business over the last two decades, Mr. Giuliani saw the demand for his services spike in April 2018 when he joined the legal team helping Mr. Trump navigate the special counsel’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Some of the people involved with Mr. Giuliani’s deals have already come under law enforcement scrutiny.

Lev Parnas, the Ukrainian-American businessman whose company paid Mr. Giuliani $500,000, was arrested last week along with three associates on campaign finance charges.