4 takeaways from the Lev Parnas interview and revelations

Lev Parnas has leaped to the center of the impeachment of President Trump, with House Democrats releasing a series of documents from Parnas that detail his work with Trump’s personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani and Ukrainian officials. Parnas also spoke with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow on Wednesday night, during an interview in which he lodged some explosive allegations that have yet to be substantiated.

Below, some takeaways.

1. Ukraine knew this was about hitting Biden, not ‘corruption’

On Tuesday night, we got documents that indicated there was an early quid pro quo between Parnas and then-Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuri Lutsenko. During the administration of Volodymyr Zelensky’s predecessor, then-President Petro Poroshenko, Parnas and Lutsenko tied information about Hunter Biden and Burisma Holdings to the removal of then-U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, whom Lutsenko wanted out. Continue reading.