Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, one of President Trump’s personal attorneys, has increasingly become the focus of the Democrat-led impeachment inquiry. Now, ABC News is reporting that the House Intelligence Committee, chaired by Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff (CA), has their hands on various audio and video recordings and photographs related to Giuliani’s Ukraine activities.
Mentioned by Trump in his famous July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Giuliani’s actions related to Ukraine have repeatedly come up in impeachment testimony, including by that of Ambassador Gordon Sondland, who told the committee Wednesday that “yes” there was a “quid pro quo” for a “requested White House call and White House meeting.” The “quid pro quo,” Sondland emphasized, came from Giuliani, not Trump. “I’ve never heard from President Trump that the aid (to Ukraine) was conditioned on the investigations,” Sondland said.
Giuliani is also connected to two men — Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman — who were recently arrested at Dulles International Airport with one-way international tickets. The two men are under criminal investigation by the Southern District of New York for allegedly “circumventing campaign finance laws against straw donations and foreign contributions,” as ABC explains, charges to which both men have pleaded not guilty.
“According to the indictment, Parnas sought then-Ukraine Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch’s ouster earlier this year along with his efforts to get Ukrainian officials to investigate the president’s political rival, matters that have repeatedly emerged in the House impeachment inquiry,” ABC reports.
With the Southern District of New York looking into his connections to the two men, Giuliani is reportedly featured in recordings and photographs provided to Schiff’s committee by Parnas.
“The House Intelligence Committee is in possession of audio and video recordings and photographs provided to the committee by Lev Parnas,” ABC News reported Sunday citing multiple sources familiar with the matter. “The material submitted to the committee includes audio, video and photos that include Giuliani and Trump. It was unclear what the content depicts and the committees only began accessing the material last week.”
In a statement to CNN Sunday, Schiff said that his committee has subpoenaed Parnas and Fruman for their records. So far, Parnas appears to be complying while Fruman refuses. Some of the material that Parnas has provided is currently being held by the Southern District of New York, sources say.
In a statement provided to the press, Parnas’ attorney Joseph A. Bondy said the evidence and potential testimony that his client intends to provide “is non-partisan, and not intended to be part of a battle between the left and the right, but rather an aid in the determination by our government of what is in the best interests of our nation.”
While Democrats and federal prosecutors focus more on Giuliani, the former mayor has been fighting back online and on air.
“I discovered a pattern of corruption that the Washington press covered up for years!” Trump’s attorney tweeted Saturday. “I’m also going to bring out a massive pay-for-play scheme under the Obama Administration that will devastate the Democrat Party. Do you honestly think I’m intimidated?”
He also cited in a follow-up post that he has “files in my safe about the Biden Family’s 4 decade monetizing of his office” which “will appear immediately along with my RICO chart” if he should “disappear.”
In an interview with Fox News’ Ed Henry on Saturday, Giuliani addressed the rumors that Trump was going to “throw him under the bus.” He and Trump “have a very, very good relationship,” said Giuliani.
“I mean, I’ve seen things written like, he’s gonna throw me under the bus,” he said. “When they say that, I say, ‘He isn’t, but I have insurance.’ [It’s] ridiculous. We are very good friends. He knows what I did was in order to defend him, not to dig up dirt on Biden.”
Related: Giuliani: Joe Biden Should Be Prosecuted For Bribery