Lev Parnas stated during the Biden impeachment hearing that Rudy Giuliani was aware that he was promoting Russian disinformation.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) asked Parnas when Mr. Giuliani started collaborating with Russian agents and individuals who later faced sanctions from Donald Trump’s Treasury Department for spreading propaganda against Joe Biden.
Parnas responded, “It was probably around May or June of 2019.”
Raskin inquired, “Did Mr. Giuliani know that these people were essentially doing the bidding of Vladimir Putin?”
Parnas replied, “Absolutely.”
Raskin continued, “So he had no qualms about spreading lies concocted by Russian agents?”
Parnas answered, “As long as it fit the narrative, absolutely not.”
Raskin asked Parnas how Giuliani and he disseminated Russian disinformation in the media, “How did you and Giuliani manage to promote and amplify these false allegations from corrupt officials and Russian agents within the U.S. political system? Were media groups skeptical of your claims?”
Parnas explained, “Most media groups, I’d probably say all except for Fox and a few other right-wing media groups, were unwilling to entertain any of the information, and this frustrated Rudy Giuliani and John Solomon and others. The primary outlet for this was Fox News, Sean Hannity, and other media personalities. But there were also individuals in Congress doing the bidding for the Russian people, like Senator Ron Johnson and Congressman Pete Sessions, who has been with me from the beginning of this effort to uncover information about Joe Biden.”
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You will probably never see this on Hannity as it’s incredibly damaging pic.twitter.com/0v4cHScfAw
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 20, 2024
The key revelation from this impeachment hearing was that Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump, Fox News figures like Sean Hannity, and Republican lawmakers knowingly propagated Russian disinformation.
Lev Parnas, who was closely involved as Rudy Giuliani’s assistant in the effort to uncover or fabricate damaging information about Joe Biden, provided eyewitness testimony.
While unlikely to gain traction in major corporate media on its own, Parnas’s testimony is likely to be utilized by the Biden campaign and may become a part of the president’s argument about defending democracy. The Republican Party is willing to use Russian disinformation if they believe it will help them win an election.
