Thread by @propublica

1/ So @RudyGiuliani’s two Ukraine helpers were arrested this morning — for allegedly funneling Russian money into U.S. campaigns.

Here’s what we at @ProPublica and @WNYC know about Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman...

propublica.org/article/trump-…

2/ First, let’s talk about what Parnas and Fruman were doing with Rudy:

Fruman and Parnas are Soviet-born. They introduced Rudy to Ukrainian prosecutors whom the U.S. has called corrupt. The two went to Ukraine after Rudy canceled his trip under heat. propublica.org/article/trump-…

3/ Rudy worked with these guys despite their problematic pasts. For example, a court found that Parnas defrauded investors in a movie he was involved with, “Anatomy of an Assassin.”

“He conned us from day one.” miamiherald.com/news/politics-…

4/ Parnas and Fruman are well-connected in Ukraine. Fruman owns a number of businesses there, including a beach club in Odessa, Mafia Rave.

5/ BuzzFeed and @occrp dug into Parnas and Fruman’s machinations in July.

The two denied wrongdoing.

“All we were doing was passing along information,” Parnas told BuzzFeed. “We’re American citizens, we love our country, we love our president.”

buzzfeednews.com/article/mikesa…

6/ More recently, BuzzFeed looked at other things Parnas and Fruman did during their Ukraine campaign.
buzzfeednews.com/article/mikesa…

7/ Here’s why the two face arrest: They allegedly laundered Russian money into U.S. elections. They set up an LLC that contributed 100s of 1000s of $ to a pro-Trump group led by Don Jr.

Fruman also allegedly misspelled his name to hide his donations. wsj.com/articles/two-f…

8/ The @CampaignLegal Center first flagged the donations and filed a complaint with the FEC.

campaignlegal.org/document/straw…

9/ After those donations, Fruman and Parnas had dinner with @realdonaldtrump at the White House.

10/ There’s also the fellas’ failed weed biz. Prosecutors allege they used $1 million given to them by a foreign businessman with “Russian roots” to try to buy influence in Nevada and gain a marijuana license.

Then they missed an application deadline.
documentcloud.org/documents/6466…

11/ Fruman and Parnas’ lawyer, John Dowd, who used to be Trump’s lawyer, didn’t respond to a request for a comment from the WSJ, which broke the news of the indictment.

12/ There are still a lot of questions. If you happen to have any answers, please get in contact with us. There are lots of ways to do it, including via Signal and WhatsApp:

wnycstudios.org/podcasts/trump…

13/ Listen to this and more at Trump, Inc. We’ll have a *great* new episode next Wednesday. And every two weeks. Sign up to our newsletter to get ‘em.

propub.li/2Hp6MNj

So Rudy's now-arrested colleagues gave a whole bunch of money to a Trump group.

The chair of that group? A Don Jr hunting buddy named Tommy Hicks Jr.

We've reported on Hicks and the really great access he's had to the admin.

propublica.org/article/trump-…

One more thing: Tommy Hicks Jr. who headed the pro-Trump group that Rudy's colleagues allegedly funneled money to, was also a vice-chair of Trump's inauguration committee and is now the co-chair of the Republican National Committee.

propublica.org/article/trump-…

The pro-Trump group that got the allegedly funneled donations from Rudy's colleagues has said they segregated the money as soon as flags were raised.

"We take our legal obligations seriously," said a spokeswoman.

wsj.com/articles/two-f…