Ex-congressman denies ‘wrongdoing’ in Giuliani associates’ alleged scheme

Former Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) denied any “wrongdoing” in connection with two Florida businessmen who allegedly lobbied an unnamed congressman to get the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine fired.

Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, associates of President Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, were indicted this week in connection with an alleged scheme to illegally conceal a contribution to a pro-Trump super PAC through a shell company.

{mosads}The indictment also said that the two lobbied the representative to push for the removal of then-Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, who was recalled in May. The details align with records of their donation to Sessions, who lost his seat in November 2018.

“There has been a suggestion that I am ‘Congressman One’, which I cannot confirm. However, I will vigorously defend myself against any allegations of wrongdoing,” Sessions said in a statement Thursday afternoon.

“As it relates to my role as a member of Congress and a candidate in 2018, the most important sentence in the indictment is this: ‘The defendants concealed the scheme from the candidates, campaigns and federal regulators’,” Sessions added.

“Therefore, if I am ‘Congressman One’, I could not have had any knowledge of the scheme described in the indictment or have involvement or coordination of it.”

Sessions also defended writing to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about Yovanovitch, saying he was motivated by reports she was “disparaging President Trump to others as part of … official duties.”

“My entire motivation for sending the letter was that I believe that political appointees should not be disparaging the President, especially while serving overseas. I have been friends with Rudy Giuliani for more than 30 years,” he wrote. “I do not know what his business or legal activities in Ukraine have been.”