Giuliani associate offered to help Ukrainian oligarch with 'extradition matter' in exchange for Biden dirt


Rudy Giuliani may have been targeting legally vulnerable Ukrainians to provide assistance in his quest to dig up dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, The New York Times reports.
Ukrainian energy tycoon Dmitry Firtash said Soviet-born American businessmen Lev Parnas and Igor Frumin offered to help Firtash, who is facing extradition to the United States on bribery and racketeering charges, with his legal troubles by convincing him to hire lawyers Victoria Toensing and Joseph diGenova, who have ties to President Trump.
Parnas' lawyer Joseph Bondy confirmed the account, but added a twist. In Bondy's telling, Parnas and Frumin — at Giuliani's direction — encouraged Firtash to help find any potential compromising information related to the Bidens or other Democrats "as part of any resolution to his extradition matter."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Times notes that Firtash's relationship with Toensing and diGenova has led to speculation that he is at least indirectly financing Giuliani's quest, but Firtash denies providing anybody with information about the Bidens or financing the search for it. Giuliani has also denied tasking Parnas with approaching Firtash, though he did say he sought information from Firtash's original legal team. Either way, Giuliani said there wouldn't have been anything wrong with asking Firtash about it even if he had. Read more at The New York Times.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
RFK Jr. names new CDC head as staff revolt
Speed Read Kennedy installed his deputy, Jim O'Neill, as acting CDC director
-
DC prosecutors lose bid to indict sandwich thrower
Speed Read Prosecutors sought to charge Sean Dunn with assaulting a federal officer
-
White House fires new CDC head amid agency exodus
Speed Read CDC Director Susan Monarez was ousted after butting heads with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccines
-
DOGE put Social Security data at risk, official says
Speed Read DOGE workers made the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans vulnerable to identity theft
-
Court rejects Trump suit against Maryland US judges
Speed Read Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee, said the executive branch had no authority to sue the judges
-
Trump expands National Guard role in policing
Speed Read The president wants the Guard to take on a larger role in domestic law enforcement
-
Trump says he's firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Speed Read The move is likely part of Trump's push to get the central bank to cut interest rates
-
Abrego released from jail, faces Uganda deportation
Speed Read The wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego García is expected to be detained at an ICE check-in and deported to Uganda