Two foreign-born businessmen associated with President Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani have been arrested over violations of campaign-finance laws
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK - Two foreign-born Florida businessmen who have been helping President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer investigate political rival Joe Biden have been arrested on charges of funneling foreign money to U.S. political candidates and a pro-Trump election committee, authorities said on Thursday.
The businessmen, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, were arrested and charged in connection with a federal criminal case involving campaign finance laws, federal prosecutors in Manhattan said. Each was charged with two counts of conspiracy, one count of false statements and one of falsification of business records.
The two men falsely claimed the company, called GEP, was “a real business enterprise” and that “its major purpose is energy trading, not political activity,” the indictment said. In fact, it said, the company had no real business. Giuliani did not immediately return a request for comment. Last week he told Reuters, “Parnas and Igor helped me on certain things. They helped me with logistics. They know the Ukraine, they speak Russian. They helped me locate people in a few cases.”
Giuliani told Reuters last week he had provided information to both Trump and the State Department about Yovanovitch, who he suggested was biased against Trump. Yovanovitch is scheduled to give testimony in the House impeachment inquiry.Sessions lost his House seat last year to a Democrat. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Photos from Parnas’s social media accounts show him meeting on various occasions with Trump, his son Donald Trump Jr., Sessions and Republican congressman Kevin Brady and former congressman Carlos Curbelo.In an interview last month, Parnas told Reuters that the FBI was investigating him but said he did not know why, and that he did nothing wrong. “I don’t know what the FBI wants. I’m not going to comment, what they are doing. What they did.
“In May 2018, America First Action received a $325,000 contribution and donor form from Global Energy Producers. In July 2018, a complaint was filed with the Federal Election Commission concerning this contribution.”“Accordingly, America First Action placed that contribution in a segregated bank account, it has not been used ... for any purpose and the funds will remain in this segregated account until these matters are resolved.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Two men connected to Giuliani's Ukraine efforts arrested on campaign finance chargesCNN News, delivered. Select from our newsletters below and enter your email to subscribe.
Read more »
Two Giuliani Ukraine associates indicted on campaign finance charges
Read more »
Key allegations from the Ukraine whistleblower are true, despite what Trump saysAccording to a CNN analysis, the overwhelming majority of allegations in the complaint have been corroborated by official government documents, Trump’s public statements, and news reporting. Here’s a breakdown of 14 of the most consequential claims in the complaint that have been proven true.
Read more »
White House official told whistleblower Trump Ukraine call was 'frightening'MORE: The two-page memo, written by the whistleblower one day after Pres. Trump’s call, suggests at least one aide to the president feared Trump’s own words in the call were damning, ABC News has learned.
Read more »
Key allegations from the Ukraine whistleblower are true, despite what Trump saysAccording to a CNN analysis, the overwhelming majority of allegations in the complaint have been corroborated by official government documents, Trump’s public statements, and news reporting. Here’s a breakdown of 14 of the most consequential claims in the complaint that have been proven true.
Read more »