Parnas to Maddow: ‘President Trump knew exactly what was going on’

Rudy Giuliani’s associate, Lev Parnas, told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow during an interview on Wednesday that President Trump “knew exactly what was going on” with the efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate former vice president and 2020 rival Joe Biden.

Parnas made the comments after Maddow asked what was the “main inaccuracy or the main lie being told that you feel like you can correct.”

He responded: “That the president didn’t know what was going on. President Trump knew exactly what was going on.

“He was aware of all of my movements,” he added. “I wouldn’t do anything without the consent of Rudy Giuliani or the president.”

Parnas added that Trump’s claim that he didn’t know Parnas was a lie. 

Parnas is reportedly looking for ways to cooperate with prosecutors after he was indicted for campaign law violations and pleaded not guilty. The prosecutors are investigating Giuliani’s interactions in Ukraine.

He has been thrown into the center of the impeachment storm after turning over evidence to the House citing the Trump administration and Giuliani’s efforts to coerce Ukraine to investigate Biden and his son. The records, which the House released Tuesday, include texts between Giuliani and Parnas.

The impeachment inquiry began when a whistleblower reported a phone call in which Trump asked the Ukrainian president to investigate Biden.

The president has claimed he was not involved in Giuliani’s efforts, but Parnas is now contradicting that.

–This report was updated on Jan. 16 at 9:08 a.m.