An associate of Rudy Giuliani says he warned Ukraine that the Trump administration would withhold military aid if the country didn’t launch an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden.
A lawyer for Lev Parnas told the New York Times that his client met with a representative of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government in May, during which he said the country must announce an investigation into Biden or else the White House would freeze military aid to the nation, the outlet reported Sunday.
He also allegedly told them Vice President Mike Pence would not attend Zelensky’s inauguration if the investigation wasn’t announced. Parnas is reportedly prepared to share his account with House impeachment investigators and is scheduled to testify in the coming days.
His claims, however, are being disputed on several fronts. Giuliani, for example, insisted, “Categorically, I did not tell him to say that.” Lawyers for his partner Igor Fruman added that the claim is “false” and that they never raised the issue of aid or Pence’s attendance at the inauguration.
Parnas, who was arrested with Fruman on campaign finance-related charges, has signaled that he is willing to cooperate with House Democrats’ impeachment proceedings. The pair also pressured the previous president of Ukraine to investigate Biden, according to reports.
President Trump made a similar request of Zelensky during their July 25 phone call, which is now at the heart of the impeachment process as the House attempts to determine if a quid pro quo in exchange for the military aid was committed. Administration officials have argued that the aid was never held up on the condition that Ukraine open an investigation into Biden.
