Judge rules Giuliani associate Lev Parnas can provide documents in impeachment proceedings

A federal judge ruled Friday that Lev Parnas, a known associate of President Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, can turn over documents and data to Congress as a Senate impeachment trial awaits Trump.

U.S. District Court Judge Paul Oetken’s ruling allows Parnas to turn over documents and data that were seized by federal investigators when Parnas was arrested on campaign finance charges in October, The Associated Press reports.

“Review of these materials is essential to the Committee’s ability to corroborate the strength of Mr. Parnas’s potential testimony,” Joseph Bondy, Parnas’s attorney, said in a filing.

Parnas has already provided the House Intelligence Committee with some documents through congressional subpoena.

Parnas and Igor Fruman, also an associate of Giuliani’s, aided the former New York City mayor in opening an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, in Ukraine.

In October, Parnas and Fruman were indicted for federal campaign finance violations centered around a large donation that the pair made to a group that is supporting Trump’s reelection campaign. Both have pleaded not guilty.