CNN has reported, and ABC News has now confirmed, that Rudy Giuliani is a subject in the criminal investigation that has already landed two of his “associates” in jail. The investigation into Giuliani’s business relationship with Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman is part of an ongoing investigation by the FBI's New York field office and prosecutors in the Southern District of New York. That would be the same FBI office that was apparently leaking information to Giuliani during the 2016 election, and the same U.S. attorney's office Giuliani ran before he was elected mayor of New York City.
Parnas and Fruman are currently facing four charges, including conspiracy to commit campaign finance fraud, lying to the Federal Election Commission, and falsifying records of campaign payments. In particular, they set up an LLC through which they funneled payments from a still-undisclosed Russian source into the campaigns of Republican candidates, including Donald Trump.
Parnas and Fruman were also part of Giuliani’s Ukraine scheme, helping to introduce him to officials there who might go along with plans to fabricate lies concerning Joe Biden, and cooperating in the scheme to sideline Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch. Yovanovitch mentioned the “concerted campaign” by Giuliani and his associates in her testimony before the impeachment inquiry committees on Friday.
The grand jury indictments against Parnas and Fruman released on Thursday include mentions of potential crimes by “others named and unnamed,” along with other clear indicators that the investigation is ongoing. Sources have indicated that actions were actually rushed forward when Giuliani’s clients attempted to leave the country, booking one-way trips to Vienna after having lunch with Giuliani.
The unusual appearance of Attorney General William Barr at the U.S. attorney’s office on Thursday seems to be related to the very real possibility that Donald Trump’s personal attorney is about to find himself under arrest.
