Reporting from ABC News Friday claimed President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani is a subject of the investigation into two foreign born Giuliani associates who were arrested on Wednesday on charges related to campaign finance violations connected with the still-unfolding Ukraine scandal.
Giuliani and the two arrested men, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, allegedly worked together to find evidence of corruption against former Vice President Joe Biden, one of Trump's political rivals.
The criminal investigation by the U.S Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York into the two men is ongoing, and it was confirmed to ABC News Friday that Giuliani and his relationship with Parnas and Fruman is one of its subjects.
Rudy and his criminal associates from Ukraine hanging out & drinking vodka in Trump Hotel, thanking Rabbi Moshe.@RudyGiuliani pic.twitter.com/eUy79p9hkh
— Prophet Victor Berger IV (@VicBergerIV) October 11, 2019
According to New York Magazine:
Giuliani has been working closely since at least March with Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman. Giuliani's role has been to enlist the two former Soviet émigrés to pressure Ukraine to investigate various domestic opponents of President Trump—focusing first on law enforcement officials who conducted the Russia investigation, and later on Joe Biden.
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"Man," tweeted blogger and programmer Jay Destro, "Rudy Giuliani is bad at crimes."
Trump's pressuring of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Biden's son Hunter kicked off the impeachment inquiry against Trump in the Democrat-controlled House.
The president seemed dismissive of Parnas and Fruman on Thursday, telling reporters he didn't know the pair and that an unearthed picture of the two with him meant nothing.
"You have to ask Rudy," said Trump. "I just don't know."
Progressives reacted Friday with grim satisfaction at the news Giuliani is allegedly being investigated.
"Few things put a smile on my face these days, but seeing Giuliani become the subject of a federal investigation is sure as shit one of them," said transparency advocacy group Property Of The People co-founder Ryan Shapiro. "As someone who lived on the Lower East Side while Giuliani was murdering it, this really is a delight."
