A handwritten note on Ritz-Carlton paper shows Giuliani associate Lev Parnas spelling out his top goal for Ukraine's president: Announce a criminal probe into Joe Biden
- An associate of President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani spelled out in a handwritten note his key objective for Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky: Announce a criminal probe into Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden.
- "Get Zalensky to Annonce that the Biden case will be Investigated," Lev Parnas wrote on notepaper from the luxury Ritz-Carlton hotel in Vienna, Austria.
- The note was part of a batch of evidence handed by Parnas and his attorneys to House impeachment investigators, and released Tuesday.
- It was not dated, but Parnas had told Giuliani in July 2019 he was traveling to Vienna.
- It underlines that the key objective of Parnas, who had been working with Giuliani, was to secure damaging information on Biden and his family.
- Trump's critics say the president abused his position for personal gain in the 2020 presidential election, while his defenders say his key concern was to address corruption in Ukraine.
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A top associate of Rudy Giuliani, the personal lawyer of President Donald Trump, wrote on Ritz-Carlton notepaper that his chief objective in Ukraine was for its president to announce a criminal probe into Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden and his son.
"Get Zalensky to Annonce that the Biden case will be Investigated," Lev Parnas said in the misspelled note from a branch of the luxury hotel chain in Vienna, Austria.
In another bullet point in the note, Parnas wrote another objective: "Start commun[icating] with Zalensky without (Pinchuk or Kolomoisky)."
"Zalensky" refers to a misspelled version of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's name, and Victor Pinchuk and Igor Kolomoisky are two Ukrainian oligarchs close to Zelensky.
The authenticity of the note has been confirmed by the House Intelligence Committee, which is investigating whether Trump abused his power in seeking for Ukraine top domestic rival Biden.
The committee released the note to the public on Tuesday as part of a trove of evidence handed over by Parnas and his attorneys to House impeachment investigators.
Parnas played a key role in helping Giuliani pursue dirt on the Bidens in Ukraine, and was arrested on charges of channeling foreign money into GOP campaigns in November, along with Florida businessman Igor Fruman. Both men deny the charges.
The note is not dated, but Parnas had texted Giuliani in July 2019 to say he was traveling to Vienna, according to the House Intelligence Committee.
The note adds to the pile of evidence showing that Giuliani and his emissaries sought to damage the Bidens by whipping up damaging allegations about the business and political activities of Joe Biden's son Hunter in Ukraine.
The claims, which have been investigated and are unsubstantiated, relate to Hunter Biden's work for Burisma, an energy firm.
The House impeachment probe stems from a July 25, 2019, phone call between Trump and Zelensky in which the president requested Ukraine probe the Bidens in what Democrats claim was an abuse of power aimed at securing dirt on a political rival.
Defenders of the president say that he was simply motivated by a desire to address corruption in Ukraine, while EU ambassador Gordon Sondland has claimed that officials sought an investigation into Burisma from Ukraine, not singling out the Bidens. But the note suggests the key target all along was the Bidens.
Another key piece of evidence submitted by Parnas to House investigators was a letter from Giuliani dated May 10, 2019, requesting an initial meeting with Zelensky.
In the message Giuliani said he is acting with the president's full "knowledge and consent."
This damages the argument that Giuliani was acting as a rogue agent in Ukraine, as some Republicans have claimed.
Also included were menacing messages from Republican operative Robert Hyde, suggesting that US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, who was perceived as an obstacle in the search for Biden dirt, had been placed under surveillance.
Trump has repeatedly denied committing an impeachable abuse of power in seeking to pressure Ukraine to announce a probe into Biden, a leading contender for the Democratic presidential nomination.
The Senate is preparing for Trump's impeachment trial, which could begin as early as next week.