Two associates of Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani have been arrested and charged with campaign finance violations. The men, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, were arrested at Dulles International Airport Wednesday night trying to board a one-way flight to Vienna, where they were to be meeting Giuliani. According to the indictment, the two Florida businessmen pressured former Texas Republican Congressmember Pete Sessions to push for the ouster of the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, while simultaneously funding his campaign. The ambassador was fired in May. The former ambassador, Marie Yovanovitch, is slated to testify in front of Congress today. Federal prosecutors are also accusing the businessmen of bankrolling political candidates using foreign money in exchange for political influence, including in Nevada, where they hoped to set up recreational marijuana businesses. Energy Secretary Rick Perry has also been issued a subpoena for documents about his involvement in Ukraine, as Democrats move forward with their impeachment inquiry into the president’s efforts to have Ukraine investigate political rival Joe Biden. On Thursday, President Trump denied knowing Giuliani’s arrested associates.
President Donald Trump: “I don’t know those gentlemen. Now, it’s possible to have a picture with them, because I have a picture with everybody. I have a picture with everybody here. But somebody said there may be a picture or something, where — at a fundraiser or somewhere. So, but I have pictures with everybody.”