Giuliani associate to turn over iPhone data, documents to House committee

Lev Parnas, an associate of President Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, plans to turn over his iPhone data and other documents to the House Intelligence Committee, his lawyer announced Monday.

Joseph Bondy, Parnas’s lawyer, wrote a letter to the federal judge saying the subpoenaed records are important for the committee to “corroborate the strength of Mr. Parnas’s potential testimony” in the impeachment inquiry. He wrote that they plan to produce the documents Tuesday and, per the judge’s approval, will provide them to the committee.

“We’ve asked the Court for permission to give the contents of Lev Parnas’s iPhone and other documents—to be produced to the defense by DOJ tomorrow—to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence #HPSCI for use in the impeachment inquiry,” he wrote.

We’ve asked the Court for permission to give the contents of Lev Parnas’s iPhone and other documents—to be produced to the defense by DOJ tomorrow—to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence #HPSCI for use in the impeachment inquiry. #LetLevSpeak #LevRemembers pic.twitter.com/iYNPb0DoGt

— Joseph A. Bondy (@josephabondy) December 31, 2019

U.S. District Judge Paul Oetken, an Obama appointee, previously said he would approve an offer to share the documents with the committee, according to Bloomberg.

The document release would come as Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has been requesting the Senate allow more witnesses and testimony in its trial of the president after the House impeached him. 

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has hung on to the articles of impeachment, saying she won’t pass them to the upper chamber until the guidelines for the trial are agreed upon.

Parnas was arrested in early October on campaign finance violation charges, and the House committee subpoenaed his records the day after his arrest. He has since pleaded not guilty and is out of jail on bail.

Giuliani’s associate reportedly worked with the president’s lawyer to find dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden and his son. The House impeachment inquiry began after a whistleblower report detailed that Trump asked the Ukrainian president to look into Biden, days after withholding military aid from the country.