The private Instagram page of a Rudy Giuliani associate accused of a conspiracy to funnel foreign money into elections show that he also had regular access to the President and his inner circle.
The Wall Street Journal sifted through the contents of Lev Parnas’ instagram page, which is not viewable to the general public, on Monday.
Parnas poses with President Donald Trump in multiple pictures on the account. One photo shows a thank you noted signed by the President and first lady Melania Trump.
Then, his account jumps from 2015 to 2018. In Aug ’18, Parnas posted a pic of a personalized thank-you note from POTUS & FLOTUS. “Lev Parnas, Thank you for your friendship and dedication to our cause,” it reads. WH didn’t respond to request for comment. https://t.co/oXcW96zdhb pic.twitter.com/b0DXz3Pn6x
— Shelby Holliday (@shelbyholliday) October 21, 2019
Another post shows Parnas and his business partner Igor Fruman at the White House with the President and Vice President Mike Pence. One entry shows the President’s legal team the day after Attorney General Bill Barr published his four-page summary of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report.
“Congratulations team trump !!!” the caption reads, per the Journal.
On March 25, the day after Barr released a summary of the Mueller report, Parnas posted photos from what he called a celebratory dinner with the Trump legal team at Trump’s hotel in DC.https://t.co/oXcW96zdhb pic.twitter.com/PlF0TaUThT
— Shelby Holliday (@shelbyholliday) October 21, 2019
Parnas and Fruman were arrested on campaign finance charges earlier this month, accused of a plot to funnel nearly $1 million of a foreign national’s money to Republican causes. The two were also allegedly involved in hiding the source of a $325,000 donation to the well-known pro-Trump super PAC America First Action.
Several photos show Parnas and Fruman with Giuliani, including at campaign events around the country. There’s also another photo from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ (R) 2018 victory party. One entry even appears to show that Giuliani and Parnas took a private tour of the fire-damaged Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
The Instagram account also shows Parnas in Madrid with Giuliani when Giuliani took an August meeting with a close adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Questions about that meeting and others now fuel the House’s impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump’s actions.
Attorney John Dowd wrote in a recent letter to Congress that Parnas and Fruman “assisted Mr. Giuliani in connection with his representation of President Trump.” They’ve also been represented by Giuliani, Dowd wrote.
There was a large gap in Parnas’ instagram page when the Journal was able to access it. The Giuliani associate had photos dated from 2015, but none from 2016 and 2017. The photos began again in mid-2018.
Among the 2015 photos is one of Parnas and his business partner David Correia, the co-founder of the cyber security venture known as “Fraud Guarantee.” Giuliani has said the firm paid him $500,000 for consulting work he began last year. Correia also faces charges in Parnas’ case, to which he’s pleaded not guilty.
Also in the photo: The President’s ex-wife, Ivana Trump. Parnas captioned the photo, “Fraud Gaurantee pow wow.”
One of Parnas’s first photos, posted in April 2015, shows him posing next to Ivana Trump and his business partner David Correia.
The caption: “Fraud Guarantee pow wow at Lique The atmosphere TRUMPS the rest! #FraudGuarantee #IvanaTrump #bigbusiness #greatvibe #lastnight #Trump” pic.twitter.com/qguTdeEbhh
— Shelby Holliday (@shelbyholliday) October 21, 2019
Parnas’ attorney told the Journal that he would plead not guilty, and also that the pictures reflected the fact that Parnas was a major donor and that he was helping Giuliani represent Trump. Fruman’s attorney declined to comment, the Journal reported.
Watch the Journal’s video report on Parnas’ private Instagram account below:
