Devin Nunes met with Ukrainian prosecutor to push investigations, Giuliani associate claims
Well, the impeachment investigation just got a little more awkward.
Joseph Bondy, the attorney who represents recently indicted Soviet-born American businessman Lev Parnas, said his client is willing to participate in the impeachment inquiry and inform Congress about a meeting between Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), the top-ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee who has been heavily involved in impeachment proceedings, and former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Victor Shokin in Vienna in 2018, CNN reports.
Parnas, who worked with President Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani to push accusations of Democratic corruption in Ukraine, reportedly heard directly from Shokin that the prosecutor met with Nunes. Bondy's client also said he was in touch with Nunes prior to the Vienna trip, putting him in contact with Ukrainians who could help Nunes find dirt on Democrats in Ukraine, including former Vice President Joe Biden, since Nunes was reportedly working on his own investigation into the matter, spurred by reports on the Biden conspiracy from journalist John Solomon. "Nunes had told Shokin of the urgent need to launch investigations into Burisma, Joe and Hunter Biden, and any purported Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election," Bondy told CNN.
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Congressional records show Nunes did travel to Europe in 2018 from Nov. 30 to Dec. 3, but he was not required to disclose specific details from the trip, and there is no specific indication that he went to Vienna.
CNN notes the report could place Nunes in a "difficult spot" as the impeachment process continues. Read more at CNN.
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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.