Remember Lev Parnas? He continues to be an interesting figure in the Trump orbit, even though much of what he’s said remains unverified, at least in my limited understanding of the situation.
And now his lawyer has contacted Senator McConnell, the guy who’s making decisions regarding the trial, via a letter that suggests Parnas has a lot to say concerning the President. Here’s a single paragraph of this three page letter:
Mr. Parnas would explain the conversation he overheard between Mr. Giuliani and then-Energy Department Secretary Rick Perry, who attended the inauguration in lieu of Vice President Pence, and the quid pro quo that Mr. Perry conveyed while there. Mr. Parnas would testify to the meeting he attended between Mr. Giuliani and the special envoy to Ukraine, Kurt Volker, at which Mr. Volker asked Mr. Giuliani to help facilitate a call and a face-to-face meeting with Zelensky and Trump. Mr. Parnas would explain that Mr. Volker connected Mr. Giuliani with Ambassador Gordon Sondland and Ukrainian Official Andrey Yermak, to try to facilitate a call and face-to-face meeting between Trump and Zelensky. [Transcribed, any typos mine.]
Which raises two questions:
- What does McConnell care about Parnas? He’s already ignored the 75% of Americans who want witnesses.
- And how trustworthy is Parnas? Has any of his other information been independently confirmed or disputed?
This all feels like an orchestrated drama, but I cannot make out who is pulling on the strings. Could it be Trump? Putin? Some slightly insane insanely rich dude? A Ukrainian mafia?
Or is this guy on the level?
