Lev Parnas won’t say if he plans to cooperate in criminal case

Lev Parnas declined to answer Monday when asked if he planned to cooperate in the criminal case against him, as a judge ruled the trial will kick off in October.

“That’s a good question,” Parnas told reporters following a hearing in Manhattan federal court on charges he violated US campaign finances laws. “I’m here to tell the truth.”

The Soviet-born businessman — who once worked as Rudy Giulinai’s fixer in Ukraine — to no avail.

Defense attorney Joseph Bondy has said that Manhattan prosecutors so far have declined to offer a deal to the 58-year-old, who separately shared documents and the contents of his iPhone with the House Intelligence Committee.

“I don’t think it’s over, the truth will come out,” Parnas said Monday as he stood flanked by Bondy and his wife Svetlana. “We will all know and see what Pres Trump, Attorney General Barr and Rudy Giuliani and their cohorts did with the Ukraine situation”

Bondy last month asked Barr to recuse himself from the case.

Prosecutors have accused Parnas, Igor Fruman, David Correia, and Andrey Kukushkin of variously scheming to hide donations to Republican candidates through straw-donors and allegedly funneled money put up by an unnamed Russian national into the US electoral process.

Parnas, smiling broadly and sporting an American flag pin on his lapel, was the only defendant present in court Monday before Manhattan federal court judge Paul Oetken.

During the hearing, prosecutor Nicolas Roos reiterated previous claims that more charges could be coming, but declined to elaborate.
Oetken set trial for October 5.

The men face up to 20 years behind bars if convicted.