Most Talked-About Controversies Linked to Lev Parnas

Public opinion and media debates around Lev Parnas—discover key moments of controversy.

Lev Parnas is a Soviet-born American businessman known for his association with Rudy Giuliani and his involvement in the Trump-Ukraine scandal. He played a role in promoting the Biden-Ukraine conspiracy theory, allegedly to damage Joe Biden's reputation. Parnas claims that Donald Trump was fully aware of these activities, despite Trump's denials of knowing him or his involvement. His actions and associations have made him a controversial figure in US politics.

Sections (4)

Full Timeline Early Life & Education Career & Achievements Controversies & Scandals

2016: Allegations of Ukrainian Election Manipulation

In 2018, Parnas and Fruman pressed for support for allegations that former Ukrainian officials schemed to manipulate the 2016 election to support Hillary Clinton.

2016: Shokin Ousted

In November 22, 2019, Parnas was willing to testify regarding the Ukraine affairs. Shokin was ousted from his job in 2016 because of his lack of attention to corruption cases.

April 2018: Assisting Trump's Re-election Efforts

As early as April 2018, Giuliani, Parnas, and Fruman began assisting Trump's re-election efforts and identified Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch as an obstacle.

April 30, 2018: Dinner at Trump Hotel Washington

On April 30, 2018, during a dinner at Trump Hotel Washington, Parnas was recorded suggesting to Trump that Ambassador Yovanovitch should be removed.

2018: Campaign to Oust Ambassador Yovanovitch

In 2018, Parnas and Fruman were involved in the campaign to oust Ambassador Yovanovitch, including donating funds to an unnamed Congressman, allegedly funneled through Global Energy Producers.

2018: Gucciardo's Investment in Fraud Guarantee

In 2018, Republican donor Charles Gucciardo reportedly invested $500,000 in Parnas's firm, Fraud Guarantee, which was claimed to be a retainer fee to Giuliani.

2018: Mission to Ukraine

In late 2018, Giuliani dispatched Parnas and Fruman to Ukraine to search for damaging information on Trump's political rivals.

2018: Contacting Ukrainians

Over the course of 2018, Parnas and Fruman assisted Giuliani and his associates in contacting Ukrainians to find alleged corruption surrounding Hunter Biden and Burisma.

January 23, 2019: Giuliani Meeting with Shokin

Documents released to a watchdog group showed communication between Giuliani and Pompeo shortly before Ambassador Yovanovitch was removed. Memos from Giuliani to Pompeo regarding a January 23, 2019, meeting with Ukraine's former prosecutor general Victor Shokin were included. Giuliani noted that Igor Fruman and Lev Parnas were present at the meeting.

April 2019: Ambassador Advised to Leave Ukraine

In April 2019, Ambassador Yovanovitch was advised to leave Ukraine due to security risks, as stated during her testimony, which was played during Parnas's interview with Maddow in January 2020.

September 2019: Whistleblower Report Release

In late September 2019, the whistleblower report was released, characterizing Parnas and Fruman as "two associates of Mr. Giuliani."

September 30, 2019: Document Request from House Intelligence Committee

On September 30, 2019, Adam Schiff of the Democrat House Intelligence Committee requested documents from Parnas.

October 7, 2019: No Cooperation Announcement

On October 7, 2019, John M. Dowd, Parnas's lawyer, informed the Miami Herald newspaper that there would be no cooperation with the House Intelligence Committee. Mike Pompeo made a similar announcement.

October 8, 2019: White House Non-Cooperation

On October 8, 2019, White House counsel Pat Cipollone issued a document confirming that Trump and his administration would not cooperate with the impeachment inquiry.

October 9, 2019: Arrest at Dulles Airport

On the evening of October 9, 2019, Parnas and Fruman were arrested at Dulles International Airport and charged with planning to direct funds from a foreign government to U.S. politicians.

October 10, 2019: Subpoenas Issued

On October 10, 2019, the House Intelligence Committee converted their request for documents from Parnas and Fruman into subpoenas.

October 2019: Messages in Hand Since Arrest

In January 2020, The FBI finally visited Hyde to make inquiries, even though they reportedly had the messages in hand since Parnas's arrest in October 2019.

November 22, 2019: Parnas Willing to Testify

On November 22, 2019, Parnas stated to CNN that he would be willing to testify to Congress regarding the role of himself, Republican congressman Devin Nunes, Giuliani, and Trump in the Ukraine affairs.

December 3, 2019: DOJ Received iPhone Messages

On December 3, 2019, Parnas's attorney claims that the Department of Justice sat on documents extracted from Parnas's iPhone since this date.

January 2020: Release of Documents by the House

In January 2020, the House released documents including text messages between Parnas and Robert F. Hyde indicating that Ambassador Yovanovitch was under surveillance.

January 2020: Turning Over Documents

In early January 2020, an attorney for Parnas turned over photos, text messages and thousands of pages of documents to the House Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

January 16, 2020: FBI Inquiry and Ukrainian Investigation

On January 16, 2020, the FBI visited Hyde to make inquiries regarding the text messages, and Ukrainian authorities announced they were conducting an investigation.

January 20, 2020: Motion for Special Prosecutor

On January 20, 2020, Bondy filed a motion seeking the appointment of a special prosecutor outside the Justice Department and for U.S. Attorney General William Barr to recuse himself.

January 24, 2020: ABC News Publishes Recording

On January 24, 2020, during the Trump impeachment trial, ABC News published a recording from April 30, 2018 apparently made by Fruman and shared with Parnas, in which Parnas is heard suggesting to Trump to remove the Ambassador.

2020: Immunity Claim Decision

According to revelations disclosed on The Rachel Maddow Show by Parnas in 2020, a decision was made to claim immunity and not cooperate on the basis that Giuliani was the President's attorney, protected by attorney-client privilege, and Parnas and Fruman were working under the direction of Giuliani.

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2020: False Narratives and Election Manipulation

In 2020, Parnas claimed that Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, and others pushed false narratives to manipulate the public ahead of the 2020 elections, with information originating from Russia and Russian agents.

2020: MSNBC Interview

On January 15 and 16, 2020 MSNBC aired segments of an interview of Parnas conducted by Rachel Maddow. This was Parnas's first television interview regarding his involvement in the Trump-Ukraine scandal.

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October 2021: Guilty Verdict in Federal Court

In October 2021, Lev Parnas was found guilty in U.S. Federal Court on six counts related to illegal donations to Donald Trump's 2020 campaign.

March 2022: Parnas Convicted

In March 2022, Parnas was convicted and sentenced to 20 months in prison.

June 29, 2022: Sentenced to Prison

On June 29, 2022, Lev Parnas was sentenced to 20 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,322,500 in restitution for his crimes.

September 2023: Sentence Completed

Parnas completed his sentence in September 2023.

March 20, 2024: Parnas Testifies Before House Oversight Committee

On March 20, 2024, Parnas testified before the Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee, at the invitation of committee Democrats, regarding the investigation into the Biden family and the impeachment of President Joe Biden.

2024: Continuing False Narratives and Election Manipulation

In 2024, Parnas claimed that false narratives are still being pushed to manipulate the public ahead of the 2024 elections, with information originating from Russia and Russian agents.