Lev Parnas Says He Has Tape of Trump Calling for Ambassador's Firing
Source: New York Times
WASHINGTON A former associate of Rudolph W. Giuliani, President Trumps personal lawyer, said on Friday that he had turned over to congressional Democrats a recording from 2018 of the president ordering the dismissal of Marie L. Yovanovitch, the United States ambassador to Ukraine at the time.
The associate, Lev Parnas, who worked with Mr. Giuliani on the effort to oust the ambassador and to pressure the Ukrainian government to pursue investigations to help Mr. Trump, located the recording on Friday after its existence was first reported by ABC News, said Mr. Parnass lawyer, Joseph A. Bondy.
Mr. Bondy said it is of high materiality to the impeachment inquiry of Mr. Trump, which House Democrats are presenting in the Senate. He said the tape had been provided to the House Intelligence Committee, whose chairman, Representative Adam B. Schiff, is leading the House impeachment managers in their presentation of the case against Mr. Trump to the Senate.
The recording emerged as Democrats are pressing the Senate to call more witnesses and seek additional evidence for the trial, saying there is more to be learned about the pressure campaign against Ukraine.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/24/us/politics/trump-recording-yovanovitch.html
msongs
(67,413 posts)Canoe52
(2,948 posts)Roy Rolling
(6,917 posts)Ambassadors arent fired, they are recalled, which is what happened. If the president has an issue, go through the proper channels.
Rudy and Lev are not the proper channels to recall a career U.S.ambassador.
Cracklin Charlie
(12,904 posts)Parnas/Fruman...not official anything.
Wuddles440
(1,123 posts)most important contribution to this epic saga of unrestrained corruption, it that it corroborates Parnas's description of his personal relationship with the Orange Anus.
BigmanPigman
(51,608 posts)I just read it on another thread.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100212906506
"TONIGHT: Lev Parnas' attorney Joe Bondy joins @maddow for an exclusive interview during special impeachment coverage on @MSNBC"
Bernardo de La Paz
(49,002 posts)karynnj
(59,504 posts)The fact is we have plenty of PROVEN info that she was targeted and removed - and Guiliani was behind it - and Trump approved it.
Remember that Dan Rather DID have a secretary who said that the letter that destroyed his career for years was similar in content to what she remembered. He had been given the letter by someone who did not know the person who gave it to him. Some even suggest that the letter might have been completely accurate in content - but retyped on a more modern typewriter. However, all that matter was that as soon as it came out Free Republic (!) had experts on old typewriters posting that it was not genuine.
It blew the facts - that Bush was not a stellar National Guard member, but one who shirked his duty - out the window. The "liberal" media tried to smear Bush. (Ignore that complete Navy records showed Kerry to be a mature, serious, excellent leader of his men, who used his intelligence and creativity to keep them safe - and he really was lied about.)
mobeau69
(11,145 posts)SayItLoud
(1,702 posts)To a person NOT in any position to fire anyone does NOT mean fire her. It's MOB speak.
mackdaddy
(1,527 posts)They knew that Yovanovitch was top quality and kept dragging things out hoping Trump would be on to the next shinny object and that they could ignore his "orders" or whatever you call his rantings.
Parnas said that Trump ordered her firing several times over months and months before she was actually recalled.
This was probably because Rudy kept kicking Trump about this until it finally happened.
By the way Parnas and Co wanted go get rid of Yovanovitch because they were trying to get on the board of another energy company Gasprom. So he is still a slime ball, just spilling the beans on Trump right now.