Lev Parnas Gives Data From Cellphones to House Panel

Lawyer for Giuliani associate says information is relevant to impeachment inquiry
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jan 13, 2020 3:40 PM CST
Lev Parnas Gives Data From Cellphones to House Panel
Lev Parnas arrives at court in New York last month.   (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

A close associate of President Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, has provided a trove of text messages and photos to the House committee leading the impeachment inquiry. Joseph Bondy, the lawyer for Lev Parnas, tweeted Monday that they had "worked through the night" to provide data from two of his client's smartphones to the House Intelligence Committee, the AP reports. The material involves "interactions with a number of individuals relevant to the impeachment inquiry," Bondy said, per ABC. The Democrat-run committee subpoenaed Parnas for documents on Oct. 10, the day after news broke that he and business partner Igor Fruman had been arrested while trying to board a one-way flight to Europe. Though the House voted to impeach Trump in December, committee Chairman Adam Schiff has pressed ahead to gather more information and documents in advance of the president's upcoming Senate trial.

Parnas was deeply involved in efforts by Giuliani to press Ukraine's leaders to announce an investigation into Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Trump's withholding of US military aid to the war-torn country is at the heart of the two impeachment articles approved by the House. Parnas and Fruman, both US citizens who emigrated from the former Soviet bloc, were indicted on federal charges of conspiracy, making false statements and falsification of records related to allegations they made outsize campaign donations to Republican causes after receiving millions of dollars originating in Russia. Bondy's tweets on Monday included a photo of Parnas posing with Trump, both men smiling and giving a thumbs-up, paired with the hastags #LetLevSpeak and #LevRemembers. A federal judge ruled earlier this month that Panras' cellphone data could be provided to House investigators.

(More Lev Parnas stories.)

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