Text messages shows Lev Parnas’ extensive communications with Devin Nunes aide about Ukraine 

Text messages reveal that Lev Parnas had extensive contact with a Devin Nunes aide about Ukraine – pulling the top Republican at the House Intelligence Committee deeper into the impeachment scandal

  • House Democrats released text messages between Parnas and the aide Friday
  • Show Parnas communicating with Derek Harvey, aide to Rep. Devin Nunes 
  • Parnas appeared to be arranging interviews with figures in Ukraine
  • Shows Nunes staff involved in Giuliani’s freelance Ukraine investigation 

Newly released text messages show the extensive communication between Rudy Giuliani’s indicted ‘fixer’ Lev Parnas and an aide to Rep. Devin Nunes, the Republican ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee.

House Democrats released the messages in a document dump on Friday, showing Parnas texting with Derek Harvey, a top Nunes aide.

The messages show that Harvey was far more involved than previously known in Parnas and Giuliani’s freelance investigation into Ukraine matters, including their theory that Joe Biden had corruptly influenced an investigation into a gas company where his son sat on the board.

Parnas was a fixer for President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Giuliani, in an alleged scheme to pressure the Ukrainian president to announce an investigation into Joe Biden and his son Hunter, which is the subject of Trump’s impeachment trial.

Newly released text messages show the extensive communication between Rudy Giuliani’s indicted ‘fixer’ Lev Parnas (above) and an aide to Rep. Devin Nunes

Rep. Devin Nunes is the Republican ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee

Rep. Devin Nunes is the Republican ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee

On April 10, 2019, Harvey sent Parnas his boss Nunes’ contact information, the messages show.

A series of text messages follow, in which Parnas appears to be in Ukraine setting up interviews over Skype between Harvey and key figures there. 

On April 17, Parnas appears to be prepping Harvey for a Skype interview with a Ukrainian prosecutor, Kostiantyn Kulyk, who led investigations into the firm where Joe Biden’s son served on the board.

Parnas also sent Harvey websites with biographical information about former Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin, with the message: ‘This is the general prosecutor that got fired by Biden.’ 

He also sends information about Yuriy Lutsenko, Shokin’s replacement.

At one point, on April 19, Harvey tells Parnas that he believes ‘we are best served by sending the official letter and receiving documentation before any more interviews.’ 

On April 30, Parnas tells Harvey that he has returned to Washington DC, and the two arrange to meet up at the Trump International hotel.

House Democrats released the messages in a document dump on Friday, showing Parnas texting with Derek Harvey (above), a top Nunes aide

House Democrats released the messages in a document dump on Friday, showing Parnas texting with Derek Harvey (above), a top Nunes aide

Harvey also refers repeatedly to former The Hill columnist John Solomon, who wrote extensively on the theory that Biden was involved in corruption in Ukraine, and that the Ukrainian government meddled in the 2016 election on behalf of Hillary Clinton. 

In one message Harvey asks Parnas, ‘Any documents for us or are you going to keep working through Solomon?’ In an April 12 text, Harvey says that ‘Solomon needs to get me the material.’

On May 7, Parnas writes ‘we are at trump [hotel] with Rudy and John Salomon [sic] and joe in private room.’ 

Rudy is presumably Rudy Giuliani, but it’s unclear who the ‘Joe’ referred to is.

After House Democrats obtained phone records showing calls between Nunes and Parnas, he initially said he didn’t remember speaking to Parnas and called it unlikely. 

More recently Nunes has revised his story and says he does remember talking to Parnas, but says the call was ‘odd’ and that he directed Parnas to talk to his staff. 

Parnas and his associate Igor Fruman are both currently under indictment on campaign finance charges, in part relating to donations to a Trump-supporting SuperPAC.  

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk