Federal prosecutors have reportedly launched a probe into the possibility that President Trump's personal lawyer and fixer Rudy Giuliani stood to personally gain from a Ukrainian natural-gas business, people familiar with the investigation told The Wall Street Journal. The energy business — which looked at building a potential Poland-to-Ukraine pipeline to ferry U.S. natural gas — was hawked by Giuliani's associates, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman. Those associates have since been indicted for a campaign finance violation as well as served as key figures in the alleged attempts to pressure the Ukrainian government into investigating the Bidens on Trump's behalf.
Giuliani denied involvement in Parnas and Fruman's energy company, Global Energy Producers, telling the Journal he has "no personal interest in any business in Ukraine, including that business." A person familiar with the investigation claimed Parnas and Fruman contradictorily said Giuliani was a partner on the pipeline project. The two associates were arrested in October and have pleaded not guilty to their charges.
The Wall Street Journal writes that the gas project, despite facing obstacles, "had the potential to be extremely lucrative, people familiar with the pitch said." The Journal added that "it couldn't be determined what criminal charges, if any, prosecutors would weigh in connection with Mr. Giuliani's alleged interest in Global Energy Producers."
Last month, the Journal first reported that federal investigators in Manhattan were taking a closer look at Giuliani's business dealings in Ukraine. At that time, the scope of the inquiry was unknown, although Giuliani had boasted that "they can look at my Ukraine business all they want." Read Friday's full scoop at The Wall Street Journal, and more about Giuliani's alleged corruption at The Week. Jeva Lange
If you love Keanu Reeves, clear your schedule on May 21, 2021, because Hollywood is treating you to a double feature.
Warner Bros. has announced that The Matrix 4 will arrive in theaters on that date, which also happens to be the date Lionsgate had previously scheduled for the fourth John Wick movie. Honestly: Just cut out the middleman and give us the John Wick vs. Neo movie of our collective dreams. Read more at The Wrap. Scott Meslow
Let's hope Vacation is all you ever wanted, because you're about to get a lot more of it.
The Griswold family — immortalized on the big screen in the movies Vacation, European Vacation, Christmas Vacation, Vegas Vacation, and an Ed Helms-starring reboot you probably forgot about — is bound for the small screen, reports Deadline.
The new TV series, titled The Griswolds, will premiere on the upcoming streaming service HBO Max, and promises to explore the family's "daily lives in the suburbs of modern-day Chicago," because nothing says "Vacation adaptation" like a bunch of people sitting around at home. Read more at Deadline. Scott Meslow
The upcoming Game of Thrones prequel spinoff House of the Dragon is set hundreds of years before the events of the original series, which makes it rather unlikely that fan favorites like Tyrion Lannister or Arya Stark will be popping in for cameos.
But one Game of Thrones actor who could actually, plausibly appear in House of the Dragon says she might be down to reprise her role: Carie van Houten, who played the "red witch" Melisandre.
Melisandre was eventually revealed to be very, very old in one of many Game of Thrones plot twists that didn't actually go anywhere — but hey, at least that gives the spinoff something to explore. Read more at Entertainment Weekly. Scott Meslow
Between HBO's Big Little Lies and and Apple TV+'s The Morning Show, Reese Witherspoon has spent much of 2019 on the small screen. But there's one big-screen character she's keen to revive: Elle Woods, the protagonist of 2001's Legally Blonde and its sequel.
A third Legally Blonde hasn't formally been greenlit, but Witherspoon confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that it's on her list: "We discussed it and thought, maybe it's time to revisit" — and given that the last Legally Blonde movie ended with Elle Woods setting her sights on the White House, the 2020 election could be about to get very interesting.
Read more at The Hollywood Reporter. Scott Meslow
President Trump's impeachment saga is just begging for an HBO adaptation.
There's foreign intrigue. There are talkative star witnesses. And there's the possibility of seeing Timothée Chalamet squeeze on a bald cap to play Rudy Giuliani once he's a few decades past his prime. All of that — but in the present day and shoved into the Senate floor — is what Trump wants out of his upcoming Senate trial, Politico reports via interviews with eight current and former senior administration officials, Trump campaign aides and Republicans close to the White House.
Trump used to be worried about impeachment, even angry, Politico says. Yet lately, Trump has started laughing the whole thing off, calling the charges against him "flimsy" and the whole thing "impeachment lite." The change in attitude comes as "White House and campaign officials" start to believe "impeachment could become politically advantageous" both for swing-state Republicans and those challenging vulnerable House Democrats, Politico reports. They've gotten their confidence from polling that has shown impeachment is "unpopular with Republicans" and questionable among independents, and also the fact that no Republicans on the Hill have defected to back the process, Politico continues.
But Trump and Senate Republicans aren't on the same page about everything. While the Senate reportedly just wants to get this whole thing over with, Trump "would prefer it become more of a TV spectacle with high-profile witnesses and smooth-talking attorneys to fully exonerate him," Politico writes. After all, an appearance from Alan Dershowitz would make the O.J. Simpson parallels just too much to handle. Kathryn Krawczyk