Judge: Indicted Giuliani associate may give records to House

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge on Friday allowed a Rudy Giuliani associate indicted on campaign finance charges to turn over documents to Congress as part of the impeachment proceeding against President Donald Trump.

U.S. District Court Judge Paul Oetken granted Lev Parnas’ request to turn over to the House intelligence committee documents and data seized by federal investigators when Parnas was arrested in October.

Parnas’ attorney said in a court filing he expected to receive the materials from the U.S. Justice Department this week.

Parnas and another man, Igor Fruman, played key roles in efforts by Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer, to launch a Ukrainian corruption investigation against Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Parnas and Fruman were indicted in October on federal campaign finance violations related to a $325,000 donation to a group supporting Trump’s reelection. They have pleaded not guilty.

Parnas already has provided documents to the intelligence committee in response to a congressional subpoena. His attorney says he wants to provide more information that falls “within the scope” of the subpoena, including two batches of documents seized from his home and the contents of one of his iPhones, according to court filings.

“Review of these materials is essential to the Committee’s ability to corroborate the strength of Mr. Parnas’s potential testimony,” Parnas’ attorney, Joseph Bondy wrote in a filing.

Prosecutors did not object to Parnas turning over the information.