This Facebook screen shot provided by The Campaign Legal Center, shows from left, Donald Trump, Jr., Tommy Hicks, Jr., Lev Parnas, and Igor Fruman. (Photo: Facebook/Screenshot)
Oct 10, 2019
This is a developing story... Check back for possible updates...
Two foreign nationals who helped President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani pressure Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden were arrested Wednesday night on campaign finance charges.
The Wall Street Journalreported Thursday that Florida businessmen Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman "have been under investigation by the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan, and are expected to appear in federal court in Virginia later on Thursday."
"Mr. Giuliani... identified the two men in May as his clients," according to the Journal. "Both men have donated to Republican campaigns including Mr. Trump's, and in May 2018 gave $325,000 to the primary pro-Trump super PAC, America First Action, through an LLC called Global Energy Producers."
The donation to Trump's super PAC sparked a Federal Election Commission (FEC) complaint by the nonpartisan watchdog group Campaign Legal Center, which accused Parnas and Fruman of laundering "a six-figure contribution to President Trump's super PAC through a shell corporation."
\u201cUPDATE: last year, we uncovered how two Ukrainian-Americans had laundered a six-figure contribution to President Trump\u2019s super PAC through a shell corporation. We filed a complaint with the FEC.\n\nThose two men have now been arrested on campaign finance charges.\u201d— Campaign Legal Center (@Campaign Legal Center) 1570716134
Parnas and Fruman are both witnesses in House Democrats' impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
Former Trump attorney John Dowd, who is now representing Parnas and Fruman, sent a letter last week informing House investigators that his clients will not be cooperating with the impeachment probe.
House Democrats on Thursday subpoenaed Parnas and Fruman for documents as part of the impeachment investigation:
\u201cJUST IN: House Democrats subpoena Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, two men with business interests in Ukraine tied to Rudy Giuliani, for documents in House impeachment inquiry. https://t.co/nFfIQCVEFv\u201d— ABC News (@ABC News) 1570716983
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. Join with us today! |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
This is a developing story... Check back for possible updates...
Two foreign nationals who helped President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani pressure Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden were arrested Wednesday night on campaign finance charges.
The Wall Street Journalreported Thursday that Florida businessmen Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman "have been under investigation by the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan, and are expected to appear in federal court in Virginia later on Thursday."
"Mr. Giuliani... identified the two men in May as his clients," according to the Journal. "Both men have donated to Republican campaigns including Mr. Trump's, and in May 2018 gave $325,000 to the primary pro-Trump super PAC, America First Action, through an LLC called Global Energy Producers."
The donation to Trump's super PAC sparked a Federal Election Commission (FEC) complaint by the nonpartisan watchdog group Campaign Legal Center, which accused Parnas and Fruman of laundering "a six-figure contribution to President Trump's super PAC through a shell corporation."
\u201cUPDATE: last year, we uncovered how two Ukrainian-Americans had laundered a six-figure contribution to President Trump\u2019s super PAC through a shell corporation. We filed a complaint with the FEC.\n\nThose two men have now been arrested on campaign finance charges.\u201d— Campaign Legal Center (@Campaign Legal Center) 1570716134
Parnas and Fruman are both witnesses in House Democrats' impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
Former Trump attorney John Dowd, who is now representing Parnas and Fruman, sent a letter last week informing House investigators that his clients will not be cooperating with the impeachment probe.
House Democrats on Thursday subpoenaed Parnas and Fruman for documents as part of the impeachment investigation:
\u201cJUST IN: House Democrats subpoena Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, two men with business interests in Ukraine tied to Rudy Giuliani, for documents in House impeachment inquiry. https://t.co/nFfIQCVEFv\u201d— ABC News (@ABC News) 1570716983
This is a developing story... Check back for possible updates...
Two foreign nationals who helped President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani pressure Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden were arrested Wednesday night on campaign finance charges.
The Wall Street Journalreported Thursday that Florida businessmen Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman "have been under investigation by the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan, and are expected to appear in federal court in Virginia later on Thursday."
"Mr. Giuliani... identified the two men in May as his clients," according to the Journal. "Both men have donated to Republican campaigns including Mr. Trump's, and in May 2018 gave $325,000 to the primary pro-Trump super PAC, America First Action, through an LLC called Global Energy Producers."
The donation to Trump's super PAC sparked a Federal Election Commission (FEC) complaint by the nonpartisan watchdog group Campaign Legal Center, which accused Parnas and Fruman of laundering "a six-figure contribution to President Trump's super PAC through a shell corporation."
\u201cUPDATE: last year, we uncovered how two Ukrainian-Americans had laundered a six-figure contribution to President Trump\u2019s super PAC through a shell corporation. We filed a complaint with the FEC.\n\nThose two men have now been arrested on campaign finance charges.\u201d— Campaign Legal Center (@Campaign Legal Center) 1570716134
Parnas and Fruman are both witnesses in House Democrats' impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
Former Trump attorney John Dowd, who is now representing Parnas and Fruman, sent a letter last week informing House investigators that his clients will not be cooperating with the impeachment probe.
House Democrats on Thursday subpoenaed Parnas and Fruman for documents as part of the impeachment investigation:
\u201cJUST IN: House Democrats subpoena Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, two men with business interests in Ukraine tied to Rudy Giuliani, for documents in House impeachment inquiry. https://t.co/nFfIQCVEFv\u201d— ABC News (@ABC News) 1570716983
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.