Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman emerged from obscurity to play a crucial role in Rudy Giuliani's shadow diplomacy campaign, connecting them to a chain of events that led to the impeachment of a U.S. president for only the third time. This is how they got there. nyti.ms/2s1i44V
This account, by @mrothfeld @benprotess @WRashbaum @kenvogel @AndrewKramerNYT, is based on interviews with more than 3 dozen people in the U.S. and Ukraine and a review of photos, credit card transactions, corporate filings, court documents and internal memos.
Parnas and Fruman's foray into Republican politics brought them directly to President Trump. At a private dinner in April 2018, Parnas relayed a rumor about Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch. The exchange foreshadowed the role the 2 men would play in Trump’s Ukrainian campaign.
Parnas and Giuliani also struck up a friendship. In August 2018, Parnas took a private sightseeing cruise with Giuliani and some of his closest friends. By then, the men were on the verge of something bigger: teaming up to unearth damaging information on Trump’s political rivals. 
By early this year, Parnas and Fruman had turned to a more pressing matter for Giuliani: Ukraine. A whistle-blower’s complaint about President Trump’s conduct began to shine a light on Parnas and Fruman. nyti.ms/2EB9iNy
Ultimately, none of their connections, in either Ukraine or Washington, could save them. Parnas and Fruman were arrested them in October on campaign finance charges. They have pleaded not guilty and Giuliani has denied wrongdoing.
Read our full story: nyti.ms/2EB9iNy
Read our full story: nyti.ms/2EB9iNy
The House of Representatives on Wednesday impeached President Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The historic votes charged the president with “high crimes and misdemeanors” in connection with a Ukraine pressure campaign. nyti.ms/2Mak8yo
