AP/Business Insider
A composite image showing President Donald Trump and Lev Parnas.
- Former Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas recently turned on the president and said he was deeply involved in the campaign on Ukraine to secure dirt on Trump's Democratic rival Joe Biden.
- Trump has repeatedly claimed not to know Parnas, but Parnas' lawyer has released multiple photos and videos showing otherwise.
- Parnas told CNN on Thursday the president was "lying," and threatened to release more pictures every time he claims not to know him again.
- "I welcome him to say that even more. Every time he says it, I'll show them another picture," Parnas said.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Lev Parnas, the turned former associate of President Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani, has resolved to release a photo of him with the president every time Trump claims not to know him.
Parnas, a Ukrainian businessman who was instrumental to Trump's efforts to secure dirt on Democratic rival Joe Biden, turned on Giuliani and Trump earlier this week by revealing in a series of explosive interviews the extent of the administration's pressure campaign.
Parnas claims to be close friends with Trump, while the president has repeatedly claimed not to know him. In a Thursday interview with CNN, Parnas accused Trump of lying and threatened to release photos of them together every time the president reiterated those claims.
"I welcome him to say that even more," Parnas said Thursday. "Every time he says it, I'll show them another picture ... He's lying."
#LevRemembers
Shortly after Parnas was arrested in October 2019, on charges of funneling foreign money into US elections, Trump claimed not to know him. But Parnas' Facebook profile from May 2018 showed multiple photos of him visiting the White House, including one of Parnas with Trump alone.
"I don't know those gentlemen," Trump told reporters at the time. "Now it's possible I have a picture with them because I have a picture with everybody, I have a picture with everybody here."
Other Trump officials, including senior adviser Kellyanne Conway and ranking House Intelligence Committee member Rep. Devin Nunes, have also claimed not to have met Parnas before.
Parnas' attorney, Joseph A. Bondy, has since tweeted out numerous videos and photos of Parnas with Trump, Conway, and close Trump family members Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and son-in-law Jared Kushner - accompanied by the hashtags #LetLevSpeak and #LevRemembers.
Parnas' charges
Parnas turned on Trump this week shortly after the House Intelligence Committee released a trove of incriminating evidence detailing his and Giuliani's pressure campaign in Ukraine.
It included a handwritten note by Parnas, written on Ritz-Carlton paper, that said: "Get Zelensky to announce the Biden case will be investigated."
Parnas has since said that Trump "knew exactly what was going on" in Ukraine the whole time, and implicated multiple senior administration officials, including Vice President Mike Pence and Attorney General William Barr, in being involved in the efforts.
Giuliani and his emissaries, including Parnas, had been trying to strongarm Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky into publicly committing to investigating Biden and his son, Hunter, over unfounded allegations of corruption.
Such a probe would damage Biden's reputation and could ruin his chances against Trump in the 2020 presidential election - in other words, benefit Trump personally. A July 25 phone call between Trump and Zelensky has since prompted the US president's impeachment, which reached the Senate for trial on Thursday.
Associated Press
Presiding officer Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts swears in members of the Senate for the impeachment trial against President Donald Trump on Thursday.
In his Thursday interview Parnas also said he had "loved" Trump to such an extent that when FBI agents visited his house, my wife felt embarrassed because they said I had a shrine to him.
"I had pictures all over ... I idolized him. I thought he was the savior."
He painted a picture of yes-men surrounding Trump in a cult-like devotion - which could later come back to haunt the president in future trials, as Business Insider's Kieran Corcoran has pointed out.
- Read more:
- Trump surrounded himself with yes-men who treated him like a cult leader. As his impeachment trial looms, that could prove a disaster.
- Lev Parnas claimed he and Trump's allies sought help from a Ukrainian oligarch fighting US extradition in search for dirt on Joe Biden
- Nancy Pelosi's unprecedented gamble to hold her fire with Trump's impeachment is paying off in spades
- 'Barr had to have known everything': Parnas alleges AG Barr was 'basically on the team' to pressure Ukraine
"He's lying." Lev Parnas, Rudy Giuliani's associate who stands at the center of the impeachment inquiry, says about President Trump's claim that that they have never met.https://t.co/qLwZHVZuBB pic.twitter.com/cI0DCQUK3N
- New Day (@NewDay) January 16, 2020After our trip to DC, we worked through the night providing a trove of Lev Parnas' WhatsApp messages, text messages & images-not under protective order-to #HPSCI, detailing interactions with a number of individuals relevant to the impeachment inquiry. #LetLevSpeak #LevRemembers pic.twitter.com/HdHaCyZXIm
- Joseph A. Bondy (@josephabondy) January 13, 2020Here's the "I don't know him at all, don't know what he's about, don't know where he comes from, know nothing about him" guy, w Lev Parnas & Roman Nasirov, former head of Ukrainian Fiscal Service, at Mar-a-Lago 12/16. @POTUS .@realDonaldTrump @Acosta #LevRemembers #LetLevSpeak pic.twitter.com/5B5QY2DJEg
- Joseph A. Bondy (@josephabondy) January 16, 2020Call the witnesses. Hear the sworn testimony. @realDonaldTrump @RudyGiuliani @senatemajldr @SenSchumer #LetLevSpeak #LevRemembers pic.twitter.com/rcD2lAQhkS
- Joseph A. Bondy (@josephabondy) January 14, 2020Call the witnesses. @realDonaldTrump @RudyGiuliani @senatemajldr @SenSchumer #LetLevSpeak #LevRemembers pic.twitter.com/T3ZBMuCkYF
- Joseph A. Bondy (@josephabondy) January 14, 2020