Rudy Giuliani Associate Lev Parnas To Cooperate With House Investigators On Trump-Ukraine Scandal

Lev Parnas, an indicted business partner of Rudy Giuliani, offered on Monday to comply with a subpoena from the House Intelligence Committee for information about President Donald Trump‘s dealings with Ukraine’s government.

Last month, the FBI seized several records from Parnas, a Ukrainian-born American citizen, in raids on his home. He is currently under house arrest in Florida after being charged with campaign finance violations stemming from his use of straw donors to contribute large sums to conservative U.S. political candidates and pro-Trump political action committees. Parnas’ associate Igor Fruman was also arrested on similar charges, and the pair later claimed to be on Trump’s defense team.

Joseph Bondy, Parnas’ New York-based lawyer, told reporters his client would cooperate with House impeachment investigators as long as he isn’t held in contempt of Congress and his privileges — including his right to invoke the Fifth Amendment — are protected. Bondy added his client would give the House Intelligence panel any records it requested in a previous subpoena.

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John Dowd, one of Trump’s former personal lawyers, wrote a letter to the House Intelligence Committee last month saying he believed Parnas was not allotted enough time to cooperate with investigators. Dowd also claimed the documents the panel requested included protected by attorney-client privilege and other similar rights.

Lev Parnas, an indicted Ukrainian-American businessman with ties to Trump’s personal lawyer Giuliani, is now prepared to comply with the Trump impeachment inquiry, his lawyer told @Reuters. More here: https://t.co/SCq7I9klTU pic.twitter.com/vNfxhDzqX2

— Reuters (@Reuters) November 5, 2019

Many political pundits noted that this could mark a turning point in the Trump impeachment inquiry, and that Giuliani is likely concerned he may next be forced to comply with subpoenas or risk being charged by House lawmakers. The former New York City mayor has admitted to working with Parnas and Fruman to push for the dismissal of former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch and with Ukrainian officials to probe Joe Biden and his son.

If reports that his pal Lev Parnas is cooperating are true, we will likely get answers to the question of who has been paying Rudy soon. That should make him very nervous. https://t.co/OtawWVI8dM

— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) November 5, 2019

“I would be extremely concerned if I was Rudy Giuliani … people are turning up the heat on him.”

– Prof. Leah Wright Rigueur on Giuliani associate Lev Parnas being prepared to comply with requests for records and testimony with the impeachment inquiry.https://t.co/GEpHvAuSN3

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) November 5, 2019

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