Lev Parnas, the indicted associate of Rudy Giuliani who helped the former New York mayor hunt for dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden in Ukraine, allegedly claimed that President Donald Trump personally tasked him with a “secret mission” to pressure Ukraine to investigate Biden at a White House party.
Parnas and Igor Fruman, who were indicted last month on charges alleging that they funneled foreign cash into U.S. elections, including a $325,000 contribution to a pro-Trump super PAC, appeared in a photo taken alongside Giuliani, Trump and Vice President Mike Pence at the White House Hanukkah party last year.
During the party, Parnas and Fruman slipped out for a private meeting with Trump and Giuliani, two acquaintances who Parnas confided in told CNN. Parnas allegedly told his confidants after the meeting that the “big guy,” which is how he purportedly referred to the president, had assigned him and Fruman a “secret mission” to pressure Ukraine into investigating Biden and his son Hunter.
View the complete November 19 article by Igor Derysh from Salon on the National Memo website here.