Rep. Devin Nunes accused Democrats of doing “nefarious things” with Lev Parnas, an indicted former associate of Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani who provided documents to House investigators as part of their investigation into President Trump’s alleged dealings with Ukraine.
With the impeachment case entering the trial phase, House Democrats released a document this week that showed Nunes’s aide, Derek Harvey, talking with Parnas about the effort to obtain dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden from Ukrainian prosecutors. Nunes also had a phone call with Parnas.
But dealing with Parnas, who, along with another Giuliani associate, Igor Fruman, was charged over an alleged scheme to funnel foreign money to Republican politicians, is a tricky business, Nunes argued during an interview Tuesday evening with Fox News host Sean Hannity. He pointed to a CNN report he has disputed in which Parnas’s lawyer, Joseph Bondy, claimed his client was willing to tell Congress that the congressman met with a top Ukrainian prosecutor in Vienna in 2018.
Democrats, too, Nunes said, are spreading misinformation tied to Parnas. As a Politico report revealed on Tuesday, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff of California appeared to mislead fellow impeachment manager Jerry Nadler of New York about a text message exchange between Parnas and Giuliani.
“They accused us of doing nefarious things with this Lev Parnas character. The truth is, Adam Schiff — Adam Schiff and the Democrats have been doing nefarious things with Parnas,” Nunes said.
Nunes, who is the top Republican on the House intelligence panel, said GOP members have an “ongoing active investigation” looking at Ukraine and claimed Democrats “get mad” when his staff talks to people such as Parnas.
Nunes claimed Democrats are “culpable” for Ukraine-related corruption.
