Just leaving a hearing for Fruman, one of Guliani’s Ukraine guys. His lawyer was requesting modifications to his bail agreement, which has him on house arrest w a GPS tracker and a $1 million bond. His lawyer tried argue that Fruman was not a flight risk. It did not go well...
Fruman lawyer: The allegations that, when Fruman was arrested on the beltway at Dulles airport w a one-way ticket to Vienna, he was “fleeing the country, are completely false. There is zero evidence.”
Judge: False he had a one-way ticket?
Lawyer: “No that is absolutely true.”
...
Judge: False he had a one-way ticket?
Lawyer: “No that is absolutely true.”
...
“It was cheaper to get a one-way ticket ... $8k vs $20k,” the lawyer said. He totally intended to come back to the US, that’s just always how he books his flights.
The government then had a chance to respond...
The government then had a chance to respond...
Gov: Fruman was “subpoenaed by Congress on Oct. 7, on the 8th he booked a one-way flight to Vienna, on the 9th he was arrested on the jetway.”
He would have a lovely life in Ukraine, gov argued, holding up a brochure for a luxury hotel and restaurant group, listing Fruman as CEO.
He would have a lovely life in Ukraine, gov argued, holding up a brochure for a luxury hotel and restaurant group, listing Fruman as CEO.
Apparently one of the bars Fruman owns in Ukraine is called Buddha Bar. The government brought this up several times.
The judge, seemingly somewhat perplexed by Fruman’s lawyers arguments, denied his petition to get Fruman taken off house arrest/GPS tracker.
The judge, seemingly somewhat perplexed by Fruman’s lawyers arguments, denied his petition to get Fruman taken off house arrest/GPS tracker.
As I was leaving the court I asked Fruman’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, for his card so I made sure to spell his name right. “I wish you wouldn’t spell my name right,” he said. “I wish I had one of my colleagues cards to give you instead. Lord.”
For those asking, and to be fair, Blanche did say they had text messages to show that buying one-way tickets was Parnas and Fruman’s MO because they were never sure when they were returning from their trips. However, this evidence did not seem to help.
Correction: I may have misheard m where the government said Buddha Bar is. I thought I heard him say it in the context of Fruman’s Ukraine businesses, but he also spoke of Europe more generally.
Here is this with a few more details in article form: buzzfeednews.com/article/emaoco…
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