Thread by @moscow_project

Lev Parnas is telling @maddow everything, starting with:
"President Trump knew exactly what was going on. He was aware of all my movements. I wouldn't do anything without the consent of Rudy Giuliani or the president."

@maddow According to Parnas, Trump didn't care about corruption: "It was all about Joe Biden, Hunter Biden ... It was never about corruption. It was strictly about Burrisma, which included Hunter Biden and Joe Biden."

@maddow When he met with Ukrainian officials, Parnas says, he was very clear about his role: He was speaking for Trump—and routinely called up Giuliani to have him confirm it.

@maddow "The message was it wasn't just military aid, it was all aid ... There were several demands at that point. The most important was the announcement of the Biden investigation."

@maddow "You believe Mr. Pence's trip to the inauguration was canceled because they didn't agree to announce the investigations?"
"I know. It was 100%."

@maddow Did Pence know about the quid pro quo?
"He couldn't have not known."

@maddow Trump claimed he skipped out on a potential meeting with Zelensky in September because he had to say in the U.S. because of a hurricane.
Parnas says that's not true—and that he knows because he spoke to Rudy Giuliani and Victoria Toensing every day.

@maddow That last name is one of the lawyers for the indicted, allegedly mobbed-up oligarch Dmitry Firtash—and a member of the "BLT Team" that would meet at Trump's hotel in D.C. to coordinate their efforts to get dirt on Trump's opponents. themoscowproject.org/dispatch/the-b…

@maddow John Bolton was clearly a central player in the Ukraine scandal, and a witness to many of its key events.
The Senate has no excuse not to subpoena him for testimony.
americanprogressaction.org/issues/democra…

@maddow Parnas explains one of the notes released last night:
"This was a phone conversation I was having with Mr. Giuliani" where Giuliani tasked him to get Zelensky to announce investigations into the Bidens.

@maddow Firtash's role in the Ukraine scandal just got a lot less mysterious: He was offering dirt on Trump's political opponents—not just Biden but also Mueller's team—in exchange for Parnas and the "BLT Team's" help getting the U.S. government's charges against him dropped.

@maddow .@Maddow: "Announcing the Biden investigation and talking about getting Firtash off from this Department of Justice prosecution, these were connected?"
Parnas: "It was all connected."

@maddow .@maddow: "Do you know if Rudy Giuliani was ever in contact with Mr. Barr, specifically about the fact that he was trying to get Ukraine to announce the investigation into Joe Biden?"
Parnas: "Absolutely."
"Mr. Barr knew about it?
"Mr. Barr had to have known everything."

@maddow (•_•)
<) )╯NUNES
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( (> WAS
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<) )> COMPLICIT
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themoscowproject.org/dispatch/the-b…

@maddow "I was in shock when I was watching the hearings and when I saw Devin Nunes sitting up there ... I texted my attorney I can't believe this is happening, because they were involved in getting all this stuff on Biden."

@maddow Parnas does what none of Trump's toadies has found the courage or compassion to do: apologize to Marie Yovanovitch for the smear campaign that cost her her job, all because she stood in the way of Trump's corrupt scheme.

@maddow Parnas's interview with @maddow is back on tonight. Here's his answer to a fundamental question: Is there any merit to the allegations Trump wanted investigated?

@maddow Another quid pro quo? According to Parnas, Lutsenko made it clear that he would only make the allegations Trump's team wanted about the Bidens if they got Marie Yovanovitch out of Ukraine.

@maddow Trump's defenders insist he only wanted to combat corruption in Ukraine.
If that were true, his scheme probably wouldn't have hinged so much on the words of two corrupt prosecutors general.

@maddow Parnas discusses Rick Perry's role in the Ukraine scandal, and how he and Rudy Giuliani communicated about the investigations Trump wanted.
Sure seems like the Senate should call Perry to testify.
americanprogressaction.org/issues/democra…

@maddow Another person who, according to Parnas, was in on the Ukraine scheme: Trump's lawyer Jay Sekulow—who also showed up on Parnas's Instagram the day after the Barr letter celebrating over drinks in Trump's hotel in D.C.

https://twitter.com/shelbyholliday/status/1186228230908461056

@maddow According to Parnas, Trump personally got involved in trying to get a visa for Viktor Shokin to come to the U.S. and brief Giuliani, Barr, and Lindsey Graham—despite the U.S. government's official position that Shokin shouldn't be allowed a visa because of his corruption.

@maddow Parnas gives an unusual answer for why Trump's team resorted to a smear campaign against Yovanovitch rather than Trump simply firing her: because Trump tried that, only for the State Department to tell him they couldn't do it at the moment.