Published 19:16 IST, December 6th 2019
Rudy Giuliani under increasing pressure as associates start talks for plea deal
Pressure builds on Rudy Giuliani as Parnas begins cooperating with the inquiry; Parnas and Fruman are likely to face additional charges according to reports
- World News
- 2 min read
As Rudi Giuliani's associates, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman are set to face additional charges after being indicted for making illegal campaign contributions, Lev Parnas has entered into the early stages of cutting a plea deal. Both Lev and Igor also helped Giuliani search for leverage to help convince Ukraine to look for dirt on Joe Biden.
Giuliani comes under more pressure
If Parnas does cut a deal, it would put even more political pressure on Rudi Giuliani who his facing his share of legal troubles. Some of the charges against Giuliani include making false statements, obstruction of justice, and violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. While both Parnas and Fruman have pleaded not guilty to charges of illegally funnelling contributions from a foreign source and all other charges against them, Parnas and his lawyer have begun cooperating with the house impeachment inquiry and has allegedly turned over video graphics and audio evidence to the House Intelligence Committee. As detailed in the 300-page report released by the House Intelligence Committee Democrats, Parnas cooperated with Giuliani in efforts to boost Trump's political fortunes ahead of the 2020 elections.
Parnas and Fruman were arrested from Dulles airport in Washington D.C. while they were on their way to Vienna the capital city of Austria. Both of them were charged with a conspiracy to funnel $325,000 into a Trump Super Pac (something similar to campaign funds) from a foreign source. Since their initial arrests, the prosecutors in New York have also begun to look at Rudi Giuliani and his numerous business interests in Ukraine. The investigations have determined that Parnas and Fruman have been helping Trump since April 2018. During the Super PAC dinner which was hosted at Trumps DC Hotel, Trump met Parnas and Fruman for the first time and told Trump that Ambassador Yovanovitch was hostile to Trump's policies. Marie Yavanovitch was the US Ambassador to Ukraine from 2016 to May 2019.
(With inputs from agencies)
Updated 22:35 IST, December 6th 2019