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Parnas and Fruman plead not guilty in New York
Summary
A look back at the court appearance of two Giuliani associates in the wider Trump–Ukraine scandal.
What did the court appearance of two Giuliani associates reveal about the Ukraine affair by 25 October 2019? Two days earlier, on 23 October 2019, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman pleaded not guilty at a hearing in New York City.
The two men were associates of Rudy Giuliani, personal lawyer to U.S. President Donald Trump. They had helped him in a search in Ukraine for damaging information on President Trump's political opponents. They were charged with funnelling $350,000 in illegal donations to a pro-Trump political committee, and a further $20,000 to former Republican Congressman Pete Sessions, while acting on behalf of at least one Ukrainian government official.
The wider scandal
The case sat inside what became known as the 2019 Trump–Ukraine scandal. It arose from efforts to press Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, Trump's political rival, and so potentially damage his campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. Giuliani and Attorney General William Barr were among those enlisted to apply pressure.
The background also records that a congressionally mandated $400 million military aid package was blocked. Contacts between the White House and Kyiv culminated in a phone call between Trump and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on 25 July 2019.
The not-guilty pleas meant the donation charges remained to be tested in court.
