He campaigned for the re-election of former US President Trump with illegal donations. Now the Ukrainian-born businessman Parnas is behind bars. The confidant of Trump’s ex-lawyer Giuliani also played a role in the 2019 impeachment trial.
A former business partner of former US President Donald Trump’s lawyer has been sentenced to 20 months in prison for illegal campaign donations. A federal court in Manhattan on Wednesday sentenced businessman Lev Parnas, who had previously worked with Trump’s then-attorney Rudy Giuliani, to prison.
The Ukrainian-born US citizen Parnas and the co-defendant Andrey Kukushkin were found guilty in October, among other things, of illegal campaign financing. According to the indictment, they wanted to gain influence over MPs with illegal donations before the 2018 midterm congressional elections.
Among other things, Parnas donated $325,000 to a campaign organization called America First Action, which campaigned for Trump’s re-election in 2020. Also, some campaign donations sent by Parnas are said to have actually come from a Russian businessman, which is illegal.
Parnas was arrested at Washington Airport in October 2019. He played a role in the Ukraine scandal that led to Trump’s first impeachment trial. Trump’s attorney at the time, Giuliani, had been searching in Ukraine for incriminating material against Democrat Joe Biden, who eventually defeated Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Parnas is said to have supported him in this.
