Giuliani associate guilty of campaign finance crimes
NEW YORK >> A Florida businessman who helped Rudy Giuliani’s effort to dig up dirt on Joe Biden in Ukraine was convicted Friday of campaign finance crimes, including funneling a Russian entrepreneur’s money to U.S. politicians.
Lev Parnas was on trial for more than two weeks as prosecutors accused him of using other people’s money to pose as a powerful political broker and cozy up to some of the nation’s star Republicans.
One part of the case alleged that Parnas and an associate made illegal donations through a corporate entity in 2018 as they tried to jump-start a new energy company, including a $325,000 donation to America First Action, a super PAC supporting former President Donald Trump.
Another part said he used the wealth of a Russian financier, Andrey Muraviev, to donate to Republicans in Nevada, Florida and other states, ostensibly in support of an effort to launch a legal, recreational marijuana business.
Parnas, 49, was convicted on all six counts after about five hours of jury deliberations.
The Soviet-born businessman had insisted through his lawyer that he never used the Russian’s money for political donations. He briefly closed his eyes and shook his head as the verdict was read.
“I’ve never hid from nobody. I’ve always stood to tell the truth,” Parnas said as he emerged from the courtroom. His lawyer, Joseph Bondy, promised an appeal Parnas said it was “not the end of the story.”
“I’m sad. But at this time, I just want to get home to my wife and kids,” he said.
A co-defendant, Ukraine-born investor Andrey Kukushkin, was convicted of being part of the effort to use Muraviev’s money for political contributions. He had also denied any wrongdoing. Kukushkin and his attorney left the courthouse without speaking to reporters.
The case had drawn interest because of the deep involvement of Parnas and a former co-defendant, Igor Fruman, in Giuliani’s efforts to get Ukrainian officials to investigate Joe Biden’s son during Biden’s campaign for president.
Giuliani remains under criminal investigation as authorities decide whether his interactions with Ukraine officials required him to register as a foreign agent, but he wasn’t alleged to have been involved in illegal campaign contributions and wasn’t part of the New York trial.
The case did, though, give an up-close look at how Parnas entered Republican circles in 2018 with a pattern of campaign donations big enough to get him meetings with the party’s stars.
In addition to the $325,000 donation to America First Action, prosecutors said Parnas and Fruman orchestrated donations to U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, of Texas, and to other committees supporting House Republicans.