Giuliani mates nabbed trying to flee the US

Two associates of Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani have been arrested on campaign finance charges as they tried to flee the US.

‘Maybe you should ask Rudy’: Donald Trump on Friday. Picture: AP

Democratic leaders of the impeachment inquiry have ­issued subpoenas to two ­associates of Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who were arrested on charges of campaign finance violations as they tried to flee the US.

Lev Parnas, a Ukrainian-born American, and Igor Fruman, a ­Belarus-born US citizen, were ­arrested at Dulles Airport in ­Virginia on Wednesday night (Thursday AEDT) as they sought to board an international flight with one-way tickets, said Geoffrey Berman, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Igor Fruman. Picture: AFP

The Florida-based businessmen “reportedly worked with ­Giuliani to pressure Ukraine for dirt on Trump’s opponents”, said House of Representatives intelligence committee chairman Adam Schiff. Their arrests are the first of the Ukrainian inquiry.

The house is conducting an ­inquiry into Mr Trump over ­alleged abuse of power for asking Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky in a July 25 phone call to conduct a probe of rival Joe Biden and the former vice-president’s son Hunter, who served on the board of Ukrainian gas company Burisma.

Mr Schiff said Mr Parnas and Mr Fruman were ordered to turn “key documents” over to investigators, and to testify before the con­gress­ional panels. “I don’t know those gentlemen ... I don’t know what they do,” Mr Trump said. “Maybe you will have to ask Rudy.”

Lev Parnas. Picture: AFP

The subpoenas were issued within hours of the unsealing of an indictment charging Mr ­Parnas and Mr Fruman with campaign finance crimes. The pair were accused of funnelling foreign funds to US political campaigns, including $US325,000 ($479,000) which went to a fundraising committee for Mr Trump’s 2020 re-election. Foreign nationals are barred from contributing to US election campaigns. According to the indictment, much of the funds came from “Foreign National-1”, a Russian businessman seeking retail marijuana ­licences in the US.

“Foreign National-1” is alleged to have given Mr Parnas and Mr Fruman $US1m in two $US500,000 instalments, in September and October last year.

The indictment said the contributions by Mr Parnas and Mr Fruman were made “to advance their own personal financial interests” and the interests of “at least one Ukrainian government official”.

They allegedly created a front company, Global Energy Producers, to funnel $US325,000 to a fundraising committee identified as Committee-1, a pro-Trump fundraising committee known as America First Action.

The indictment does not make any specific mention of Mr Giuliani but refers to efforts to remove the US ambassador to Ukraine, something he was involved in. House Democrats are looking into whether the ambassador, Marie Yovanovitch, was removed because she failed to go along with Mr Giuliani’s bid to get Ukraine to open an investigation into the Bidens. Mr Parnas and Mr Fruman agreed to raise $US20,000 to seek his “assistance in causing the US government to remove or ­recall the then US ambassador to Ukraine,” the indictment said.

The name of the congressman was not given in the indictment but he is identified through campaign finance documents as former congressman Pete Sessions, a Republican from Texas.

Mr Trump has admitted to seeking the removal of the ambassador, calling her “bad news”. Mr Sessions said he sought Ms Yovanovitch’s removal because she was “disparaging” Mr Trump.

AFP