Thread by @BuzzFeedNews

EXCLUSIVE: Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer, has operated a private foreign back-channel with two unofficial envoys as part of campaign to discredit the president’s Democratic rivals and undermine Robert Mueller’s investigation
buzzfeednews.com/article/mikesa…

Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman have repeatedly met with top Ukraine officials and set up meetings for Giuliani to push prosecutors to investigate allegations against Joe Biden, and probe accusations that Ukrainian officials plotted to rig the 2016 election for Hillary Clinton.

They also waged an aggressive campaign in the United States, staying at the Trump International Hotel and meeting with key members of Congress as they joined in a successful push that led to the early removal of the ambassador to Ukraine, after she angered their allies in Kiev.

The two men have poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into Republican campaigns, including a $325,000 contribution to America First Action PAC. They have visited multiple times with the president and shared breakfast with his son Donald Trump Jr.

The duo has already had an impact. Prosecutors in Kiev announced in March they would investigate the officials accused of rigging the election — a month after meeting with Parnas, Fruman, and Giuliani. Trump called the allegations “incredible” in an interview with Fox News.

A former federal prosecutor said Parnas and Fruman were "playing with fire" by lobbying without registering as foreign agents. The two men say they were not paid for their work and acted on their own initiative.

The pair's contribution to America First Action also faces scrutiny. Records reveal one of Parnas' companies received $1.26 million from a lawyer specializing in real estate and foreign investments. The duo used that money when giving to the PAC, but didn't disclose the source.

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