Rudy Giuliani’s associate Lev Parnas told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow during an interview scheduled to air Wednesday that President Trump “knew exactly what was going on” with the efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate former vice president and 2020 rival Joe Biden.
Parnas made the comments in response to Maddow’s question of what was the “main inaccuracy or the main lie being told that you feel like you can correct.”
The associate responded: “That the president didn’t know what was going on. President Trump knew exactly what was going on.
“He was aware of all of my movements,” he added. “I wouldn’t do anything without the consent of Rudy Giuliani or the president.”
He added that Trump’s claim that he didn’t know Parnas was a lie.
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<p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>WATCH:: Giuliani associate Lev Parnas tells Maddow: 'President Trump knew exactly what was going on' https://t.co/cjPh4f9fTv pic.twitter.com/pnqcRxhcKs</p>— The Hill (@thehill) January 16, 2020
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#BREAKING: Parnas says Trump threatened to withhold more than just military aid to Ukraine https://t.co/iheRIK0K9X pic.twitter.com/vNm3BJbqbn
— The Hill (@thehill) January 16, 2020
Parnas: Trump threatened to withhold more than just military aid to UkraineParnas unleashed a slew of new accusations against the president, including that he, as a representative of Trump, gave Ukrainian officials a “very harsh message” that the U.S. would cut off all aid to the country if it did not announce an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden.
“The message was it wasn’t just military aid. It was all aid,” he told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow. “Basically, the relationship would be sour. We would stop giving them any kind of aid.”
The associate to the president’s personal attorney said that he met with officials, including a senior aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and made clear that he was there “on behalf of Rudy Giuliani and the president of the United States.”
Parnas also countered the president’s narrative by asserting that receiving aid was contingent on U.S. demands, primarily the investigation into Biden and his son, who was on the board of a Ukrainian company during Biden’s vice presidency.
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Parnas on @maddow basically sewing up the case that the president committed everything he’s been accused of doing, and then some. And it won’t matter a damn to the Republicans or to the Trump cult.
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) January 16, 2020
The simple answer here is to call in Rudy, put him under oath, and ask him if anything Parnas said is true. https://t.co/3Vijx26NVy
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) January 16, 2020
Wow. Parnas was basically the bag man for the White House. A total shakedown directed by the president himself and carried out by a crude thug.
— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) January 16, 2020
Parnas describes Robert Hyde as a “weird character … always drunk” at the Trump Hotel bar. He said it was “a breeding ground, the Trump Hotel.”https://t.co/Ic3y6Nrxtt
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) January 16, 2020
How much of this are Republican Senators willing to take?
— Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) January 16, 2020
This Parnas interview is also a hell of a recommendation for Joe Biden, because it shows how terrified Trump, Fox News, and every goon in the Republican party is of Biden winning the nomination.
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) January 16, 2020
Which raises the question, who was paying those two ghouls? https://t.co/u1XkTRDinQ
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) January 16, 2020
The larger story, with the gaps Parnas is filling in, is straightforward, coherent, really pretty simple, and consistent with heaps of investigative journalism, all the testimony of the impeachment hearings, as well as the wild stonewalling behavior of the implicated principals.
— Will Wilkinson 🌐 (@willwilkinson) January 16, 2020
But a bunch of this has been or will be backed up, and the outline narrative provides a credible framework for further investigation.
— Will Wilkinson 🌐 (@willwilkinson) January 16, 2020
– The panic about Joe Biden being nominated is so intense that even Fox News is involved
– Who's paying Toensing and DiGenova?
– Hi, Derek Harvey, welcome, my son, to the machine/2
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) January 16, 2020
And if you think Parnas is lying or embellishing, then just take Bolton, Rudy, Harvey, and the rest and put them under oath. Ask them. /4x
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) January 16, 2020
“Believe him at your peril” is quite a statement to make about a guy who Giuliani has used as the basis for much of his info that led to where the president is now. https://t.co/i0rEYCbsqI
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) January 16, 2020
Everyone knew he was lying then. Finally admitted it now. https://t.co/emJTJy65Cn
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) January 16, 2020Phone records show at least 4 calls between Parnas and Nunes, including an 8-minute call on Apr 12, 2019.
Within an hour of the Apr 12 Parnas-Nunes call, Parnas called Giuliani, who then called Trump attorney Jay Sekulow and a "White House phone number."https://t.co/MrPJb9wsDd
— Polly Sigh (@dcpoll) December 4, 2019
Parnas just accused Bill Barr of criminal complicity in the Zelensky bribery. Yet Barr is STILL overseeing the SDNY prosecution of Parnas. That can’t continue! The conflict of interest is staggering! The DOJ’s credibility & legitimacy is on life-support. This travesty must end!
— Glenn Kirschner (@glennkirschner2) January 16, 2020
There it is.
“President Trump knew exactly what was going on. He was aware of all my movements. I wouldn't do anything without the consent of Rudy Giuliani or the President."
Parnas isn’t going to get leniency from the court if he lies—truth telling now is what’ll help him. pic.twitter.com/oVpApVevCL
— Ryan Goodman (@rgoodlaw) January 16, 2020
1. Parnas said Trump threatened to withhold more than Ukraine military aid
2. He implicated AG Barr
3. Said “Trump knew exactly what was going on”
4. Accused Pence of being in the know
5. Said Ukraine campaign “was never about corruption"https://t.co/kbhxTHofgh— The Hill (@thehill) January 16, 2020
So is Mr. Parnas going to testify at the impeachment trial?
I'm not sure the magnitude of this has sunken in.
To be clear, Lev Parnas just implicated Rudy Giuliani, and possibly Trump, in a criminal conspiracy to solicit a bribe from Ukraine.
I spoke to legal experts who confirmed this. New piece: https://t.co/Oo77CJUdLp
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) January 16, 2020
The Giuliani letter is the single most significant thing that Parnas has produced. It would be a huge mistake for the press to drop it in favor of Parnas dangling unsubstantiated claims about Pence or Barr. https://t.co/i4SsPIPPNa
— Susan Hennessey (@Susan_Hennessey) January 16, 2020
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