In an interview with MSNBC's Rachel Maddow on Wednesday, Lev Parnas, the indicted associate of Rudy Giuliani, contradicted President Trump's claims that he decided to withhold millions in military aid to
Ukraine last summer because he was concerned about corruption in the country."It was never about corruption," Parnas said. "It was strictly about Burisma, which included Hunter Biden and Joe Biden." During a July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump asked him to investigate
Joe Biden, a political rival, and his son Hunter, who recently served on the board for Burisma, a Ukrainian gas company. This conversation was central to Trump's impeachment charges.Parnas worked with Giuliani in Ukraine, setting up meetings as Giuliani attempted to dig up dirt on the Bidens. Parnas said Trump "lied" when he said he didn't know him, and they had many one-on-one conversations. Parnas has been indicted on felony campaign finance violation charges, and told Maddow he decided to speak to her because "I want to get the truth out. I feel it's important for our country. I think it's important for me."More stories from theweek.com Lev Parnas denies tracking Marie Yovanovitch in Kyiv, says she was never 'in danger' Lev Parnas wants to unload his dirt on
Rudy Giuliani to federal prosecutors, his lawyer says Lev Parnas: Devin Nunes was 'involved in getting all this stuff on Biden'