LEV PARNAS

Parnas posted a tweet chain highlighting how Giuliani, his former boss, was Trump's "consigliere," and the roles each Trump child played.

Lev Parnas, an associate of Rudy Giuliani who was a figure in President Trump’s first impeachment investigation, was sentenced to a year and eight months in prison for fraud and campaign finance crimes.

Lev Parnas, an associate of Rudy Giuliani who was a figure in President Donald Trump's first impeachment investigation, was sentenced Wednesday for fraud and campaign finance crimes.

Parnas was convicted of using the riches of a wealthy Russian to make illegal donations to politicians.

An associate of Rudy Giuliani who was a figure in former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment investigation was sentenced Wednesday to a year and eight months in prison for fraud and campaign finance crimes.

Lev Parnas, an associate of Rudy Giuliani who was a figure in President Donald Trump's first impeachment investigation, was sentenced Wednesday to a year and eight months in prison for fraud and campaign finance crimes. Parnas, who had helped Giuliani connect with Ukrainian figures as part of a campaign to dig up dirt on President Joe Biden's son, had sought leniency on the grounds that he’d helped the Congressional probe. Instead, they asked the judge to focus on a jury’s finding that Parnas used the riches of a wealthy Russian to make illegal donations to politicians who might aid the launch of a legal recreational-marijuana business.

Parnas was convicted at trial of campaign-finance violations and separately pleaded guilty to stealing investment funds.

A tangled criminal scheme involving two associates of Donald Trump's former lawyer Rudy Giuliani led to charges against a Russian oligarch.

A Russian tycoon whose name arose prominently in the illegal political contribution case against two associates of Rudy Giuliani was secretly charged with conspiracy last year in a New York court, prosecutors revealed Monday. Conspiracy and illegal campaign contribution charges that were lodged against Andrey Muraviev in September 2020 in Manhattan federal court were unsealed by prosecutors who told a judge that the businessman was not in custody and was believed to be in Russia. An indictment returned against Muraviev in September said some of Muraviev’s money was used for political contributions and donations aimed at launching a business to acquire U.S. retail cannabis and marijuana licenses, but the source of the funds was disguised as coming from the Giuliani associates, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman.

With millions getting their information about the war from the platform, the administration wants to get its message to top content creators.

A Florida man who helped Rudy Giuliani seek damaging information against Joe Biden in Ukraine has been sentenced to a year and a day in prison and fined $10,000 in an unrelated campaign finance case.

Prosecutors accused Parnas of using other people's money to pose as a powerful political broker and cozy up to some of the nation's star Republican political figures.

Parnas and another business associate Igor Fruman were arrested in 2019 while trying to board an international flight with one-way tickets.

A New York jury has convicted a former associate of Rudy Giuliani of charges that he made illegal campaign contributions to influence U.S. politicians and advance his business interests.

A New York jury convicted a former associate of Rudy Giuliani on Friday of charges that he made illegal campaign contributions to influence U.S. politicians and advance his business interests. The verdict was returned in Manhattan federal court, where Lev Parnas was on trial for more than two weeks as prosecutors accused him of using other people’s money to pose as a powerful political broker and cozy up to some of the nation’s star Republican political figures. One part of the case alleged that Parnas and an associate made illegal donations through a corporate entity to Republican political committees in 2018, including a $325,000 donation to America First Action, a super PAC supporting former President Donald Trump.

Lev Parnas played a role in the first impeachment of then-President Donald Trump, having helped Rudy Giuliani in an effort to dig up dirt on Joe Biden in Ukraine.

A prosecutor has told jurors at the trial of an associate of Rudy Giuliani that the defendant hatched a scheme to funnel $1 million in funds from a wealthy Russian financier into U.S. elections.

An associate of Rudy Giuliani has told a federal judge that he will not testify at his own trial.

A 2018 candidate for governor of Nevada says his enthusiastic pursuit of big contributions from a Rudy Giuliani associate he met at a Trump hotel ended with a $10,000 check he had to return.

Former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt testified at a trial Friday, describing how his enthusiastic pursuit of big contributions from a Rudy Giuliani associate he met at a Trump hotel during his 2018 run for governor ended with a $10,000 check he had to reject. Adam Laxalt, 43, now a 2022 candidate for U.S. Senate, was repeatedly shown text messages he exchanged with Florida businessman Lev Parnas as he followed up with what he thought was a well connected man who could possibly raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for his campaign. Parnas and Andrey Kukushkin are facing charges that they conspired to use over $100,000 of a $1 million investment from a Russian financier to fund politicians they thought could advance their business interests, including in an energy company and in the fledgling legal marijuana industry in the West.

Opening trial begins for Lev Parnas, an associate of Rudy Giulliani, involving illegal donations to influence to U.S. politicians.

Opening trial begins for Lev Parnas, an associate of Rudy Giulliani, involving illegal donations to influence to U.S. politicians.

A prosecutor opened the trial of an associate of Rudy Giuliani by accusing him of trying to use up to $1 million from a Russian financier to infiltrate U.S. elections.

Jury selection begins for Soviet-born Florida businessman Lev Parnas and Ukraine-born investor Andrey Kukushkin.

Jury selection begins for Soviet-born Florida businessman Lev Parnas and Ukraine-born investor Andrey Kukushkin.

A businessman who once pitched himself as someone who could expose corruption in the Trump Administration over its dealings in Ukraine is facing trial in New York City.

A Rudy Giuliani associate facing trial next week in New York City for allegedly making illegal campaign contributions to U.S. politicians is too poor to pay for his own lodging and transportation, a judge ruled Monday. Judge J. Paul Oetken ordered taxpayers to pick up the tab for Lev Parnas’ hotel room and put the U.S. Marshals Service on the hook for getting him to New York in time for the Oct. 12 trial. Parnas, a Soviet-born Florida businessman, and Ukraine-born investor Andrey Kukushkin are accused of a scheme to make illegal campaign donations to local and federal politicians in New York, Nevada and other states in an effort to win support for a new recreational marijuana business.

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken rejected a request by lawyers for Parnas and Kukushkin to postpone next month's trial until February.

The October illegal campaign contribution trial of an associate of Rudy Giuliani and a guilty plea set to occur this week by a second associate puts a spotlight on him as a government probe of the former mayor continues.

Fruman and three others were charged with multiple counts of conspiracy, campaign-finance violations, false statements, and falsifying records.

The judge presiding over an upcoming trial of two associates of Rudy Giuliani and a third man on charges they made illegal campaign contributions said Thursday he’d be shocked if Giuliani’s recently confiscated phones aid a selective prosecution claim he's already rejected. U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken commented as attorney Joseph Bondy pressed for assurances that prosecutors will let defense lawyers know if any phone data would help the defense of Lev Parnas, Igor Fruman and Andrey Kukushkin. At one point at a pretrial hearing, the Manhattan judge asked Bondy if he thought a phone might contain something from former Attorney General William Barr saying Parnas should be arrested “because he's going to turn against Trump even though he's a big Trump supporter now.”

These college graduates will be part of historic commencement ceremonies.

Personal lawyer to former President Donald Trump denies wrongdoing; Giuliani claims he never represented foreign nationals

A long-running federal investigation into Rudy Giuliani’s dealings in Ukraine has moved back into public view after federal agents seized electronic devices from the former New York mayor.

Rudy Giuliani sought to discredit the federal investigation into his dealings in Ukraine a day after agents raided his home and office.

The full scope of the investigation is unclear, but it at least partly involves Giuliani's Ukraine dealings, the officials said. AdThe Foreign Agents Registration Act requires people who lobby on behalf of a foreign government or entity to register with the Justice Department. AdThe Justice Department requires that applications for search warrants served on lawyers be approved by senior department officials. Giuliani's attorney Robert J. Costello told The Associated Press he has “heard nothing” from federal prosecutors concerning Giuliani. Giuliani has said he had no knowledge of illegal donations and hadn’t seen any evidence that Parnas and Fruman did anything wrong.

A defamation lawsuit Rep. Nunes brought against CNN was tossed out by a Manhattan judge on Friday, Feb. 19. Scott Applewhite, File)NEW YORK – A defamation lawsuit U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes brought against CNN was tossed out by a Manhattan judge on Friday. The Nunes lawsuit said Parnas was telling lies to try to get immunity. In court papers, CNN lawyers said Nunes and his staff had declined to comment prior to publication on whether Nunes had met with a Ukrainian prosecutor. "In his rush to sue, however, Rep. Nunes overlooked the need first to request a retraction."

FILE - In this Oct. 17, 2019, file photo, David Correia walks from federal court in New York. David Correia, 45, was sentenced remotely by U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken in Manhattan. In court papers, Correia largely blamed his slide into criminal behavior on his association with Parnas. The Securities and Exchange Commission said when it recently filed civil charges related to the fraud that Correia lives in West Palm Beach. Prosecutors have not alleged Giuliani did anything wrong and he was only referenced in court papers and at the sentencing as “Attorney-1."

His lawyer asked in papers filed last week that Correia serve no prison time. In court papers, Giuliani was identified as “Attorney-1," a lawyer who was assisting the company in exchange for a $500,000 fee. AdThe investor told Correia that if Giuliani “wasn’t part of this thing, I probably wouldn’t do it. Correia promised the investor that Giuliani would help with compliance and regulatory issues, advertising and marketing, and several other deliverables, prosecutors wrote. Correia said Giuliani also agreed that the company could “use his likeness to be the ‘face of the company’ (should we choose) for commercials, advertisements, etc.

On Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020, federal prosecutors brought new wire fraud charges against the associate of Rudy Giuliani, who was involved in attempts to get Ukrainian officials to investigate Joe Biden's son. Trump’s efforts to press Ukraine for an investigation of the Bidens led the House to impeach him, though he was later acquitted by the Senate. When Parnas was arrested in October 2019, Democrats in the U.S. House were seeking his testimony about his involvement with Giuliani's Ukrainian effort. Giuliani, a Republican, has said he knew nothing about illegal campaign donations. In his legal filing Tuesday, Bondy didn't offer evidence that there had been any interference by the White House in the campaign fraud investigation, which was overseen by prosecutors in New York.

NEW YORK – A change-of-plea hearing is set for Thursday for a man charged with conspiring with associates of Rudy Giuliani, one of President Donald Trump's lawyers, to make illegal campaign contributions. The hearing for David Correia, scheduled to occur by video, was announced in a filing Wednesday in Manhattan federal court. In September, an updated indictment charged Correia and co-defendant Lev Parnas with defrauding investors in a business called Fraud Guarantee. Parnas and Correia also hired Giuliani, a Republican former New York City mayor, to consult with Fraud Guarantee. Last month, one of his lawyers asked to leave the case and said Correia hadn’t paid him.

On Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020, federal prosecutors brought new wire fraud charges against the associate of Rudy Giuliani, who was involved in attempts to get Ukrainian officials to investigate Joe Biden's son. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)NEW YORK – Federal prosecutors brought new wire fraud charges Thursday against an associate of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani who was involved in attempts to get Ukrainian officials to investigate the son of U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. Lev Parnas and his business partner, David Correia, were charged with defrauding investors in a business called Fraud Guarantee. Parnas and Correia also hired Giuliani to consult with Fraud Guarantee. Gucciardo's attorney previously said that the $500,000 was intended to be an investment in Fraud Guarantee.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The trial of Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, two associates of U.S. President Donald Trumps personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, for alleged campaign finance violations will likely be delayed until after Novembers presidential election because of the coronavirus pandemic. FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian-American businessman Lev Parnas speaks to the media after a hearing at the Manhattan Federal Court in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S., February 3, 2020. He also said the restrictions have made it harder for Parnas and Fruman to prepare their defenses. The Ukraine-born Parnas and Belarus-born Fruman were charged over their alleged use of a shell company to make an illegal $325,000 donation to a committee supporting Trumps re-election. A trial may last two to three weeks.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge set an Oct. 5 trial date for Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, two associates of President Donald Trumps personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, setting the stage for more information to emerge about their alleged campaign finance violations before Novembers presidential election. FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian-American businessman Lev Parnas, an associate of President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, exits after a bail hearing at the Manhattan Federal Court in New York, U.S., December 17, 2019. The Republican-controlled Senate voted 51-49 on Friday against calling witnesses at the impeachment trial, clearing the way for Trumps likely acquittal. Since his arrest, Parnas has assumed a high public profile, giving interviews and showing up in Washington on Wednesday to attend the impeachment trial. Parnas is wearing an ankle bracelet, and was denied entry because electronics are forbidden in the Senate visitors gallery.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A secretly recorded video released on Thursday shows U.S. President Donald Trump associating with Lev Parnas, the indicted businessman who says he worked to pressure Ukraine to investigate one of Trumps Democratic political rivals. The two recordings show that the Republican president was at private events with Parnas twice in just 10 days in 2018. At the end of the recording, he poses for photos with his guests, including Parnas. Bondy released a recording last Saturday of a dinner with Trump on April 30, 2018, in which Trump discusses Ukraine with Parnas and orders that the then-ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, be fired. Parnas is seeking leniency as he faces federal charges for allegedly funneling money to a pro-Trump election committee.

The letter said the White House would be in touch with Boltons lawyer with detailed guidance for manuscript revisions. The Senate is expected to acquit Trump but allowing witnesses such as Bolton could inflict political damage on the Republican president as he seeks re-election on Nov. 3. A Bolton spokeswoman had no comment on the White House letter. REUTERS/Mary F. CalvertTrump added that Bolton, who left his White House post in September, goes out and IMMEDIATELY writes a nasty & untrue book. Parnas indicated willingness to testify in the trial, adding, The president knew everything that was going on with Ukraine.

Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) arrives at the U.S. Capitol for the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump in Washington, U.S., January 29, 2020. REUTERS/Mary F. CalvertThe U.S. Senate on Wednesday enters a new phase in the trial that will determine whether Trump is removed from office. The questioning precedes a vote later in the week on whether to call witnesses including Bolton, as Democrats have sought. The Senate is expected to acquit Trump but allowing witnesses such as Bolton could inflict political damage on the Republican president as he seeks re-election on Nov.3. Trump has denied telling Bolton he sought to use the aid as leverage to get Ukraine to investigate the Bidens.

Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch leaves the hearing room after testifying in the House Select Intelligence Committee hearing on the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump on Friday, Nov. 15, 2019. A newly surfaced recording contains audio of President Donald Trump demanding that former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch be fired, ABC News reported Friday. A lawyer for Fruman did not respond to a request for comment, and Parnas' lawyer, Joe Bondy, confirmed that the tape did not come from Parnas. Yovanovitch said that corrupt Ukrainian officials and Trump associates, including Giuliani, had orchestrated a "smear campaign" against her.

House impeachment managers submitted a 100-page brief Saturday arguing that the case for removing President Trump from office is clear. "President Trump's misconduct presents a danger to our democratic processes, our national security, and our commitment to the rule of law. Attorneys Robert Ray, Ken Starr and Alan Dershowitz will also be on the president's trial legal team. Sources close to the president's legal team held a conference call with reporters Saturday afternoon to discuss the legal team's strategy. After the Senate votes on the rules, the impeachment managers and the president's lawyers will present their arguments to the Senate.

REUTERS/Jonathan ErnstWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department will do everything it needs to do to determine if former U.S. ambassador Marie Yovanovitch was under threat in Ukraine, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a radio interview on Friday. They also showed Parnas was also involved in monitoring Yovanovitchs movements before Trump removed her in May. Yovanovitch was a key witness in the U.S. House of Representatives impeachment investigation of Trump last fall. I suspect that much of whats been reported will ultimately prove wrong, but our obligation, my obligation as Secretary of State, is to make sure that we evaluate, investigate. Yovanovitch testified she had received a late night call from Washington warning her that she needed to return to the United States urgently and that there were concerns about her safety.

Marie Yovanovitch, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, talks with her attorney and supporters after concluding her testimony before a House Intelligence Committee hearing as part of the impeachment inquiry into U.S. President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., November 15, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan ErnstWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department will do everything it needs to do to determine if former U.S. ambassador Marie Yovanovitch was under threat in Ukraine, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a radio interview on Friday,Documents released this week indicated Lev Parnas, a Ukraine-born U.S. citizen, helped U.S. President Donald Trumps personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani investigate presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter. They also showed Parnas was also involved in monitoring Yovanovitchs movements before Trump removed her in May. Pompeo also said in the same interview that he has never met or communicated with Parnas.

Lev Parnas, the indicted associate of Rudy Giuliani, claimed in an interview that aired Thursday that President Donald Trump fired, or believed he fired, the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine several times before her recall was publicly announced in April. "He fired her probably, at least to my knowledge at least four, five times," Parnas said in the second part of an interview on MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show," according to a transcript. "I don't know how many times at that dinner, once or twice, three times, but he fired her several times at that dinner," Parnas said, speaking of Trump. Parnas said Trump was directing the State Department to fire Yovanovitch, and the department was refusing to do it. Giuliani said in interviews last month that Yovanovitch was an obstacle to getting Ukraine to announce the investigations he said Trump desired.

Ambassador to Ukraine, arrives back from a break in the House Intelligence Committee hearing on the impeachment inquiry of President Trump in Longworth Building on Friday, November 15, 2019. Among the documents were messages from a Republican congressional candidate in Connecticut named Robert Hyde, who suggested that he was monitoring Yovanovitch in Ukraine. Trump himself had asked Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to "look into" the Bidens in a July 25 phone call that eventually helped launch the impeachment probe. Hunter Biden had served on the board of Ukraine natural gas company Burisma Holdings while his father was vice president. Hyde, in a Sinclair Media interview that aired Wednesday, denied having eyes on Yovanovitch, claiming, "I thought we were playing."

Lev Parnas and wife Svetlana Parnas arrive at federal court on December 2, 2019 in New York City. Federal prosecutors on Monday said they are "likely" to file new criminal charges in a pending case involving associates of Rudy Giuliani, the personal lawyer of President Donald Trump. Giuliani has not been charged in connection with the case. That material includes records from phones, banks and the Internet obtained from witnesses and companies related to the charges. Parnas' lawyer Joseph Bondy requested that the court loosen Parnas' tight bail conditions.

Here are the stories you shouldnt miss today:TOP STORIESThe Nunes QuestionCongress is on a Thanksgiving break, but developments in the historic public impeachment hearings against President Trump continue to unfold. Subscribe to the Los Angeles Times. Newsletter Get our Today's Headlines newsletter SubscribeOUR MUST-READS FROM THE WEEKEND In mid-September, columnist Steve Lopez hailed a cab and met cabbie Oganes Papazyan. (Los Angeles Times)CALIFORNIA The only child to survive a San Diego murder-suicide that claimed the lives of his parents and his three brothers has died, according to a family member. Six people who had fallen ill aboard a Norwegian Cruise Line ship that was docked at the Port of Los Angeles were evaluated by paramedics as they disembarked, authorities say.

The attorney for an indicted associate of President Donald Trump's personal lawyer says his client is willing to tell Congress that Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., met with Ukraine's former top prosecutor about investigating the activities of Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden. As vice president, Joe Biden joined a chorus of global pressure for Ukraine to fire then-state prosecutor Victor Shokin. Shokin himself claims he was fired at the behest of the former vice president to ease pressure on Burisma and Hunter Biden. Joseph A. Bondy, an attorney for Lev Parnas, the indicted associate of Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal lawyer, confirmed that his client was willing to testify before Congress that Nunes met with Shokin. On Wednesday, the Daily Beast reported that Parnas himself helped to arrange meetings in Europe last year for Nunes.

DeSantis, at the time a congressman, first came into contact with Lev Parnas after speaking at a gathering of the Zionist Organization of America on May 9, 2018, according to a spokeswoman for the governor. The spokeswoman was unsure of the exact nature of the event, but DeSantis spoke at the organizations annual Washington Mission that same day in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill.

A lawyer for Parnas, Ed MacMahon, responded by suggesting that some of the communications could be protected by attorney-client and even executive privilege since his client was doing work for Giuliani while Giuliani was representing the president. Outside court, Parnas who like Fruman wore an American flag lapel pin to court told reporters that he would fight to clear his name. Prosecutors say Parnas, 47, and Fruman, 53, made the donations while lobbying U.S. politicians to oust the country's ambassador to Ukraine. Trump's efforts to press Ukraine for an investigation of the Bidens are now the subject of a House impeachment inquiry. The four defendants are U.S. citizens, but Kukushkin and Parnas were born in Ukraine and Fruman in Belarus.

Two associates of President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani pleaded not guilty Wednesday in federal court in Manhattan to criminal charges related to an allegedly illegal donation to a Trump-linked PAC and other actions. That effort and Trump's pressuring of Ukraine to investigate Biden is at the center of an ongoing impeachment inquiry into Trump. The lawyer, Edward McMahon, said that possiblity exists because of the fact that Parnas worked with Giuliani, and because Trump also has had interactions with Giuliani. During the same month they donated the money to the Trump PAC, Parnas posted photos on Facebook of himself and Fruman with Trump, as well as with Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son. Fruman and Parnas' co-defendants, David Correia and Andrey Kukushkin, were arraigned last week and pleaded not guilty to a single conspiracy count.

Two men accused of an illegal political finance scheme with two associates of President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani pleaded not guilty Thursday in federal court in New York. Fruman and Parnas did not appear at Thursday's arraignment. Trump faces possible impeachment for pressuring Ukraine to investigate Biden while he was withholding military aid to the Ukraine. Afer Thursday's hearing, Kukushkin was released on bail of $100,000 cash, and additional security from $900,000 worth of real estate. Kukushkin and Correia are accused of using money from a Russian national to influence politicians in their effort to launch a recreational marijuana business in Nevada.

Both men had worked in an unspecified capacity for Firtash before Parnas joined the Ukrainians legal team, according to a person familiar with the Florida mens business dealings with Firtash. John Dowd, the lawyer representing Parnas and Fruman, confirmed to Reuters that Parnas had worked for Firtashs legal team as an interpreter. But Dowd also told the U.S. Congress that both men worked for DiGenova and Toensing. He declined to respond to a request to clarify whether one or both of his clients worked for Firtashs legal team. An Austrian court in June cleared the way for his extradition to the United States, but Firtashs legal team continues to fight it.

Federal investigators are looking into Rudy Giuliani's involvement with two men indicted for campaign finance violations, a person familiar with the matter told CBS News. The two men, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, are associates of Giuliani, who is President Trump's personal attorney. The New York Times reported Friday that federal prosecutors are investigating whether Giuliani violated foreign lobbying laws in his work in Ukraine. An attorney for Giuliani, former Watergate prosecutor Jon Sale, told CBS News he had "no comment" on reports of the investigation. Giuliani told CBS News he has no knowledge of an investigation and has not been interviewed by FBI.

Giuliani has said Parnas and Fruman helped his efforts in Ukraine to investigate Biden and Bidens son Hunter. They helped me locate people in a few cases.Jay Sekulow, a lawyer for the president, told Reuters that neither the president nor the campaign was aware of their scheme, referring to the defendants. Prosecutors said Parnas, Fruman and others also conspired to funnel donations to candidates in Nevada, New York and other states to benefit a planned marijuana business funded by an unnamed Russian businessman. Slideshow (9 Images)In an interview last month, Parnas told Reuters that the FBI was investigating him but that he did not know why, and that he did nothing wrong. Kelly Sadler, a spokeswoman for the America First Action political Action Committee, confirmed the pro-Trump group received the $325,000 contribution mentioned in the indictment.

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraines president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday he had never met arrested businessmen Lev Parnas or Igor Fruman, who have been helping President Donald Trumps personal lawyer investigate political rival Joe Biden. They were arrested in the United States on charges of funneling foreign money to U.S. political candidates and a pro-Trump election committee. Zelenskiy also said that Washington did not request any documents regarding Parnas and Fruman from him.

- Federal prosecutors in Manhattan say that beginning in 2018, Parnas and Fruman made illegal donations to political candidates. The donations included a $325,000 contribution to America First Action, a political action committee that supports pro-Trump political candidates, according to an indictment. The indictment says the efforts were conducted in part at the request of at least one or more Ukrainian government officials. REUTERS/Leah Millis- Parnas and Fruman were arrested on Wednesday at an airport outside Washington carrying one-way tickets to Vienna. - Parnas and Fruman are accused of criminal violations of laws that promote transparency in U.S. elections, as well as conspiracy to defraud the United States.

(Reuters) - Igor Fruman and Lev Parnas, two foreign-born associates of U.S. President Donald Trumps personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, were charged on Thursday with conspiring to influence U.S. politics with illegal campaign contributions. John Dowd, the lawyer for Parnas and Fruman, declined to comment on the charges. Parnas and Fruman made their initial court appearance in Alexandria, Virginia, with another court date set for next Thursday. Parnas told NPR last month that he was good friends with Giuliani and that they played golf together. Like Parnas, he has donated widely to pro-Trump politicians and has helped Giuliani with his efforts in Ukraine to discredit the Biden family.

John Dowd, the lawyer for Parnas and Fruman, declined to comment on the charges. Parnas and Fruman made their initial court appearance in Alexandria, Virginia, with another court date set for next Thursday. Parnas told NPR last month that he was good friends with Giuliani and that they played golf together. Like Parnas, he has donated widely to pro-Trump politicians and has helped Giuliani with his efforts in Ukraine to discredit the Biden family. Correia and Parnas also worked together on a failed moviemaking venture that ended in litigation, according to U.S. media reports.

Giuliani has said Parnas and Fruman helped his efforts in Ukraine to investigate Biden and Bidens son Hunter. They helped me locate people in a few cases.Jay Sekulow, a lawyer for the president, told Reuters that neither the president nor the campaign was aware of their scheme, referring to the defendants. Prosecutors said Parnas, Fruman and others also conspired to funnel donations to candidates in Nevada, New York and other states to benefit a planned marijuana business funded by an unnamed Russian businessman. In an interview last month, Parnas told Reuters that the FBI was investigating him but that he did not know why, and that he did nothing wrong. Kelly Sadler, a spokeswoman for America First Action Political Action Committee, confirmed the pro-Trump group received the $325,000 contribution mentioned in the indictment.

WASHINGTON - Two Florida businessmen tied to President Donald Trump's lawyer and the Ukraine investigation were charged Thursday with federal campaign finance violations. Parnas and Fruman were arrested on a four-count indictment that includes charges of conspiracy, making false statements to the Federal Election Commission and falsification of records. Giuliani said he couldn't comment and that he didn't represent the men in campaign finance matters. The men were arrested around 6 p.m. Wednesday and booked at a local jail in Alexandria, Virginia. Prosecutors allege that Parnas and Fruman conspired to make illegal contributions to try to skirt the limit on federal campaign contributions.

(CNN) - House Democrats on Thursday issued subpoenas to two associates of President Donald Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani who were indicted by federal prosecutors on the same day. The leaders of the three House committees leading the impeachment inquiry demanded that Parnas and Fruman turn over documents related to communications with the White House, Ukrainian officials and Giuliani by Oct. 16. The committees have sent subpoenas to the State Department, White House, Pentagon and Office of Management and Budget, as well as to Giuliani and US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland. More subpoenas are likely in the coming days in response to White House stonewalling of the impeachment probe. The Democrats wrote to Dowd that they would also be seeking testimony from the Giuliani associates "at a later date."