People don’t go out of their way to search for truth if they don’t know they have been deceived. And, those who rarely leave online echo chambers where they’re insulated from facts that don’t comport with familiar ideology may never know.
Former Trump insider Lev Parnas learned the hard way that he had been deceived. Like others unwittingly embroiled in Trump’s syndicate of gangsters, Lev’s fool’s errand ended badly — behind bars.
Filled with remorse he, he spilled the beans to Rachel Maddow, wrote a tell-all book. He also vowed to expose the corruption and criminality he witnessed throughout the former president’s orbit and warn his fellow citizens about his dangerous ambition to emulate dictators like Putin.
“I’m just getting started!”
Since truth rarely penetrates MAGA media firewalls online, the only way they’ll ever hear inconvenient truths they need to hear is offline, outside of online echo chambers, face to face, without interference of MAGA trolls, hawks and influencers who rarely let anyone believe any narrative not etched into the MAGA stones.
Prying loyalists away from social media for anything beyond a Trump 24 campaign rally would require a very compelling reason. Overcoming that conundrum is what sparked a year’s worth of strategizing ways to use the inevitable book tour to promote Shadow Diplomacy once it was finally published. The challenge was how to convince people who watch Rumble videos to attend a reading of a book that would contradict their alternate reality, which they’d eventually ascertain once they figured out that the author was the same guy who produced the most damning receipts of Trump’s first impeachment, debunked Hunter’s laptop conspiracy investigations, and exonerated President Biden of any wrongdoing before he could be impeached.
Those of us hell-bent on finding a way to get the attention of those who most NEED to hear what he has to say had to think outside of the box. If Lev wouldn’t compel them to set down the smart phone for a night, who could? These people did have a life before MAGA, right? If nothing else, perhaps nostalgia would make learning a thing or two more appealing. After all, some of the most conservative public figures on the planet had epiphanies (and courage), which cost them reelection but rewarded them with six figure publishing deals, New York Times Bestsellers, and reinvented public service careers as commentators on left-leaning mainstream media. Surely, they might be able to peel fellow conservatives.
Back to the drawing board for Plan B. Obsessed with finding a way to make it work had a couple of us toiling over numbers — polls, precinct data, over/under votes, turnout, media trends, audience sentiments in right wing media. We had time to figure this out because, at that moment, it would be several months before Lev’s book would be printed.
The numbers looked bleak. So did our unscientific survey of the handful of former MAGAs we could find. We were reminded that the MAGA zealots have persistently defamed George W Bush, Liz Cheney, Denver Riggleman, Mitt Romney and other ethical elected officials who have criticized Trump. They even swarm prolific superstars like Taylor Swift in social media with incendiary shaming and death threats.
There is practically zero likelihood that hearing the most damning evidence against Trump on every page of Lev’s book would deprogram a third of our population, much less even one zealot. So few escape the veritable cult mentality. Neither reason nor logic nor empathy nor compassion can compete with their obsession with Trump, which is a shame, considering most of us agree on what we hope for the country and things we value. What divides us is the disinformation that convinces some that we don’t, that we are one another’s enemy. Once they have been radicalized by the sophisticated, well-funded psy-ops deployed by advanced intelligence units of our most dangerous foreign adversaries, with the help and blessing of a few former intelligence officers of the U.S. Army, they’re untouchable — and dangerous.
“People are more alike than they are different. They generally want the same things: safety, economic security, opportunity and to be treated with dignity… when you appeal to those desires, it is easy to find common ground with anyone.”
Alexander Vindman
As are the more recently radicalized, non-MAGA, never-trumper, supporters of DiSantis, RFK Jr., and other third party candidates planted and paid for by fascist foreign adversaries who need Trump back in office to advance their half-baked imperialist ambitions. Among these are the anti-vaxxers, flat earthers, science deniers, chem-trail chasers and, to our horror, the antisemitic neo-nazis, white nationalists, holocaust denier’s and other extremists who terrify perceived enemies on X-Twitter daily with impunity.
We are determined, even stubborn but, at the end of the day, not foolish. Out of an abundance of caution, and self preservation, we needed to reset and find a detour.
However, time spent exploring the best route to get us where we need to be wasn’t for naught. Recall Plan B? Radicalized MAGA zealots wouldn’t be influenced by moderates who don’t worship their guy, old school conservatives who were never radicalized might be relieved to commiserate with ethical Republicans they respect. Most have always found Trump’s behavior distasteful but supported him because they thought his policies would be advantageous. In fact, we have observed a growing number of disenfranchised Republicans whose loyalties shifted after New York civil cases ruled against him. We have personally spoken with others who said they closed the door on Trump and locked it when he was convicted of 34 felonies.
Although some have yet to be convinced that FoxNews is the real “fake news” or that Trump is the second coming of Mussolini, there is reason to believe that personal conversations in which they learn about the alarming escalation of fascist ideology influencing GOP politics are having a real impact. Those who don’t pay close attention to politics aren’t aware of the slow insurgency underway by Heritage Foundation, Russian Oligarchs and other religious extremists pouring millions into right-wing politics to weaken our democracy and have no clue how dangerous a second Trump term would be. Nor would they connect recent Supreme Court decisions, i.e., Chevron, Dobbs and Presidential Immunity, undermine constitutional guardrails that would block authoritarian governmental reforms mandated in the Heritage Foundation’s fascist manifesto, Project 2025.
When they do hear these things and see the evidence, they’re invariably mortified that the party of Lincoln and Reagan would advance interests of enemy dictators who invade our allies and wage war on our electorate, while pushing laws for oppression of civil liberties, mass deportation, christian nationalism, executive supremacy, state controlled media, and prosecution of protesters, adversarial press, political opponents and social dissidents for treason.
Those who are highly motivated to keep Trump out of office and say they plan to support a third party candidate because they are not sufficiently convinced to vote for Biden are often shocked to hear that Trump’s dark money PACs are funding third party candidates as a strategic ploy to prevent Biden from reaching 270 electoral votes, which would guarantee a Trump victory. Biden is their only choice for those who value the personal liberty of living in a free society, which Trump repeatedly promises to destroy.
We have also observed an increasing number of social media groups formed by Republicans advocating for the Biden Harris ticket gaining steam since Nikki Haley dropped out of the race. They seem well informed but orphaned from a party that is no longer recognizable. While that is encouraging, their influence and reach are too often dwarfed by the highly organized, likely well-funded, right-wing digital armies pushing pro-Russia narratives, divisive rage baiiting, and fascist propaganda to deter and disrupt efforts to mobilize, organize and galvanize coalitions to support pro-democracy candidates. In the last year, we have also been following the escalation of complaints that left leaning accounts are being throttled by algorithms to the point fewer and fewer people ever see pro-democracy content, even that of mutually followed accounts.
Even when important content breaks through, it is almost always swarmed by AI bots that automatically counter with anti-American propaganda to discredit anything that doesn’t comport with our enemies’ fascist agenda. Feeds are too often inundated with offensive right-wing tropes, fascist propaganda, anti-science disinformation and countless ads from the China-controlled Epoch Times and numerous “news” accounts created to look like credible journalism outlets.
The escalation of disruptive anti-American, pro-fascist propaganda feeding the otherwise inexplicable normalization of authoritarianism in populous politics is hardly surprising considering that foreign nationals of U.S. adversaries like China, Russia and Saudi Arabia have been allowed to buy up massive programming blocks and controlling interests in media giants such as Warner (RU – CNN/HBO/Max/ATT, Time, People, etc.), Disney/ABC, Paramount (RU – CBS/Sinclaire/Viacom, etc.) TicToc (CH), and X-Twitter (SA). When an account with nearly a million followers has fewer re-posts and less engagement than fascist pro-Russian narratives posted by a right-wing bot with fewer than 100 followers, the intentional disruption of pro-democracy content distribution appears more than obvious.
The need to capture attention of people outside of manipulative media silos so that they can hear and process facts from credible sources has never been more urgent than right now.
Equally urgent is capturing attention of a-political Republican voters unaffected by media at all as they tend to vote their party up and down ballot out of nothing more than belief their parties represent their interests — as they likely did when they first voted years ago. We have intentionally sought out people of this group to tests our hypothesis that awareness is key to influencing their next vote. Since they generally aren’t interested in politics, don’t watch cable news, and rarely engage in social media echo chambers, reaching them required calling them on the phone or meeting them where they go for socializing. They were as appalled as those who spent time watching news but voted for Trump out of self interest but, since they typically cast votes out of habit as opposed to the way the party would serve them, they were more open to voting for a Democrat if it meant they wouldn’t wake up in a fascist nation after the election. As it turns out, there are millions off them – mostly boomers. Since they aren’t glued to cable news or social media, they seek out interesting events to keep themselves busy.
Voters who aren’t paying attention to politics may not realize that our most formidable foreign adversaries are waging mind wars against American citizens because they need Trump in the White House to advance their imperialist objectives. Nor would they have reason to know the depths of Trump’s reliance on ruthless dictators to advance his own sadistic fascist objectives. The importance of warning voters about the extreme threat he poses to our national security can’t be overstated. Lev Parnas is the ideal emissary of unvarnished truth about the criminal syndicate of Russian agents and oligarchs serving Trump’s corrupt agenda because he not only witnessed it, he was embroiled in it — and payed dearly for it, and documented his experiences in startling details throughout his book, Shadow Diplomacy. He will be joined by a stellar line-up of other prolific authors and public figures to speak about different but related and equally mind-blowing corruption they witnessed as GOP insiders.
Only when people learn about the corruption and criminality that defines the Trump orbit will they fully grasp the irreparable harm Trump intends to inflict on our nation should he regain power. Only with unvarnished truth can voters make informed choices about the future of our country. It’s incumbent upon every one of us who understands the dire consequences of another Trump presidency to warn those who don’t.
“I want to get the truth out because I feel it’s important for our country. I think it’s important for the world to know exactly what transpired and what happened.”
Lev Parnas
What makes Tour America with Lev so important in this effort is that it brings people out of their insulated media bubbles to deliver truth to those who need to hear it most, whether the realize it or not, and making it real in a way sound-byte media and ideological echo chambers never could. Unlike hearing pundits repeating partisan narratives and opining on issues without receipts, listening to people personally share true stories about their own experiences and having the ability to directly ask questions fosters trust, lends credibility and personalizes what they hear in a way that makes it more relatable, impactful, and memorable.
Lev Parnas is honoring his vow to keep talking until everyone understands what’s at stake if the most corrupt president in U.S. history regains power. It’s that urgency of purpose that turned what began as a modest, single author’s book tour into an epic tour de force with real potential to determine the outcome of the election and, thus, future of our democracy. The more people who join us to support this ambitious project, the more likely we can save it, one true story at a time.
Together we can write the next chapter of American history.
The journey we take now has potential to forge a future in which the generations that follow us live in a free, democratic society in which their liberties remain protected by the documents forged by our nation’s founders.
Tour America with Lev is about to launch what promises to be an epic sojourn across the United States with exciting moderated speaker events in every swing state plus book signings, private readings, VIP receptions, GOTV events in countless towns in between.
We’re seeking volunteers to help source local bookstores, venues, pro democracy groups, GOTV orgs, donors, video teams, social media influencers, and hosts for private and semi-private VIP receptions. We’re also happy to hear suggestions for guest speakers as well as local broadcasters to be alternate moderators for speaker events just in case our moderators can’t be there.
If you live in one of the colorful states on this U.S. map and have time to roll up your sleeves and join our quest to save democracy from your home town, please CONTACT us and let us know which state you’re in and how you’d like to participate.
And… We are also seeking support of contributors, partners and donors who share our vision to underwrite tour costs via our 501c4 fiscal host, The Bespoke Project. So, if you have a knack for sourcing funds and can refer us to people who are passionate about supporting worthy pro-democracy causes, we will be gushing with gratitude! Please feel free to share our flyer with the QR code to our donation portal at The Be|Spoke Project. The link to the donation form is below.
ActBlue portal coming soon.
The timing of this couldn’t be more urgent with the alarming rise of fascist propaganda flooding media channels stirring chaos and fear mongering to further polarize us and weaken support for Democrats running in challenging races. We aim to galvanize audiences outside of the noisy echo chambers with amazing speakers whose personal stories are sure to influence hearts and minds.
Let’s make history together on this quest to save democracy!
Ukrainian-born U.S. citizen Lev Parnas a was honored when then-President Trump and Rudy Giuliani recruited him for what he thought was a noble mission to help fight corruption in Ukraine. Instead, Parnas found himself embroiled in a scheme to extort statesmen for dirt on Joe Biden, which prompted Congress to impeach Trump the first time. Ultimately, that misadventure also landed Parnas in prison.
Filled with remorse, Parnas emerged from the experience with a burning desire to tell his story and expose the seldom-reported syndicate of foreign agents and oligarchs conspiring with western political figures to advance authoritarianism for power, influence and wealth. On the eve of impeachment, Parnas sent Congress volumes of incriminating documents, text messages, and other evidence implicating Trump and members of his inner circle. When GOP-majority Senate refused to hear witnesses at the impeachment trial, Parnas spilled the beans to Rachel Maddow in a seismic interview that shook Capitol Hill and rocked all-time high ratings for MSNBC.
As Maddow noted, speaking out before a criminal trial was risky “to say the least,” especially for a defendant who has “a sentient lawyer.” When asked why he decided to go public, Parnas said he feared retribution from Trump’s DOJ and didn’t trust then-Attorney General Bill Barr to protect him — or his evidence. And, he explained, his personal safety wasn’t his only concern. “I feel it’s important for our country… for the world to know exactly what transpired and what happened.”
Parnas has since made dozens of media appearances and launched #LevRemembers, a new podcast with Occupy Democrats’ Executive Editor Grant Stern. His new book Shadow Diplomacy exposes the dark underworld of the Trump orbit and Russian powerbrokers who exploit corrupt political operatives to destabilize American democracy. Parnas is also the subject of a new documentary by Executive Producer Rachel Maddow airing on MSNBC this fall.
Nearly four years after providing evidence for Trump’s first impeachment, Parnas again shook Capitol Hill. Ironically, it was his testimony that prompted Congress to drop impeachment charges against President Biden. He told the Judiciary Committee:
“The best way to serve the United States now is to explain everything, which is what I have tried to do from the very beginning, only to be silenced repeatedly by those in power who stood to gain from Trump’s re-election. But I will be silenced no longer. We are at the precipice of history, a time when not just our country but the world depends on the outcome of the next U.S. election.”
~ Lev Parnas on The Rachel Maddow Show
Democracy is in jeopardy. Nefarious influencers are flooding media with destabilizing disinformation to skew perceptions and reinforce irrational beliefs. Online echo chambers shield loyal audiences from truth about the corrupt politicos, religious extremists and foreign adversaries intentionally misleading them with divisive lies and conspiracy theories to promote fascist ideology.
With a polarized electorate facing the most consequential election in our lifetime, the urgency of ensuring everyone hears the truth can’t be overstated. Parnas vows to keep talking until everyone in America knows what’s at stake so they can make informed choices at the ballot box in November. “I’m just getting started,”he said.
Parnas has tapped a stellar lineup of prolific authors and public figures whose fascinating true stories will help to build consensus about political threats and inspire action to protect democracy for future generations.
Mr. Parnas has never before spoken in a televised interview. He has not spoken to reporters at all since his name surfaced in conjunction with a scandal and since he was arrested on October 9th, with a one-way ticket out of the country at Dulles Airport. He was charged with federal felony counts for funneling illegal donations to Republican candidates and campaigns.
Now, Mr. Parnas is under indictment. He`s awaiting trial in the Southern District of New York. He has pled not guilty.
He agreed to speak with me today on the condition that his lawyer, Joseph Bondy, would be seated alongside him throughout the interview. That`s a condition that I agreed to.
To be honest, because I agreed to that condition, I fully expected that it would be Mr. Bondy, the lawyer, who did most of the talking in this interview, but it did not work out that way.
Watch the two-part interview on The Rachel Maddow Show
Watch the Video of Lev Parnas Reading Opening Statement
Written Statement of Lev Parnas, March 19, 2024
To all the Honorable members of Congress, I am humbled and thankful to appear here before the House Oversight Committee today under oath, for the sole purpose of telling the truth. From soon after my arrest on October 9, 2019 up to now, I have been steadfastly attempting to share the irrefutable truth with you. The American people have been lied to, by Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, and various individuals in government and media positions, all of whom worked to create a web of falsehood. They did this purely to serve their own interests, knowing that it would undermine the strength of our nation. I come before you as a concerned American citizen who loves this country, and as a man who has faced up to his own wrongdoings. From November 2018 to October 2019, I was a key participant in and witness to numerous efforts to prove that Joe Biden and Hunter Biden were linked to corruption in Ukraine. Rudy Giuliani, on behalf of then-president Donald Trump, tasked me with a mission to travel the globe finding dirt on the Bidens so that an array of networks could spread misinformation about them. They sought to damage the Bidens’ reputations and secure the 2020 election for Trump.
When I was arrested, I was initially accused of being involved in a plot to remove Marie Yovanovitch, the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine whom Trump had fired in April 2019. I was smeared by this false information, and also untrue claims that I was fleeing the country.
As my case continued, the Department of Justice decided they had no interest in Ukraine, sanitizing their marquee claims about Ambassador Yovanovich from my indictment. Instead, I was prosecuted for federal campaign finance and unrelated fraud charges. I was found guilty, served my sentence, and remain on supervised release. I do not hide from that reality, because it is part of my truth. The best way to serve the United States now is to explain everything, which is what I have tried to do from the very beginning, only to be silenced repeatedly by those in power who stood to gain from Trump’s re-election.
But I will be silenced no longer. We are at the precipice of history, a time when not just our country but the world depends on the outcome of the next U.S. election. I have always been ready, willing, and able to stand in front of this Committee, the DOJ, Special Counsel, and any other Committee or federal authority, and answer all questions. Today, with your help, we can finally put an end to this wild goose chase once and for all. Then you can get back to the important work of representing the bests interests of the American people.
Please consider that the facts of what I say here have never changed from the moment I submitted everything to Congress during the first Trump impeachment in Fall 2019. I have never wavered from saying that there was no evidence of the Bidens’ corruption in Ukraine – because there truly was none. On the contrary, by setting up a search for false criminality, every individual majorly involved in this plan was disguising their own criminal activity. That persists to this very day: The impeachment proceedings that bring us here now are predicated on a bunch of false information that is being spread by the Kremlin.
Throughout this entire situation, no credible source has ever provided proof of Joe or Hunter Biden’s alleged corruption in Ukraine. The FBI, CIA, and NSA have all failed to produce any evidence of criminal activity. No respectable Ukrainian official has ever said that the Bidens did anything illegal. Former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko, who fired Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin, has himself stated “there is not one single word of truth” to these allegations about Joe Biden. Yuri Lutsenko, who succeeded Shokin as Prosecutor General, has also confirmed that nothing ties the Bidens to criminal activity in Ukraine. Even when Mykola Zlochevsky, the co-founder and CEO of Burisma, was offered a deal on his own criminal charges by Giuliani in exchange for information on the Bidens, he came up empty.
The only information ever pushed about the Bidens and Ukraine has come from Russia and Russian agents, which everyone sitting here today knows. FBI informant Alexander Smirnov has admitted to getting all his so-called intelligence on the Bidens from Russia. According to their own statements, federal prosecutors found him guilty of “actively peddling new lies that could impact U.S. elections.” And as recently as November 2023, a number of Ukrainian politicians sympathetic to Russia were implicated as having helped funnel false information about the Bidens to Giuliani while also being connected to a Russian foreign influence network.
We cannot ignore the contrast between these sources. I believe that what we are facing now is the culmination of a much larger plan for Russia to crush Ukraine by infiltrating the United States. I am grateful for this Committee’s dedication to finding the truth, which has critical importance for our country’s fate as well as that of Ukraine.
As I share information with you today, I ask you to please bear in mind the following facts:
On April 30, 2018, I was invited to a dinner with then-President Trump as a high-level donor to the Republican Party. At this event, which was recorded, Trump asked me how long Ukraine would last in a war with Russia, to which I replied, “Without us” – meaning American aid – “not very long.”
He also asked my opinion of Marie Yovanovitch as ambassador. Based on what I had heard from my contacts in Ukraine and people in the Republican Party, I knew that Yovanovitch disliked Trump, and I told him she was a problem. But I was completely unprepared for what followed: That Trump immediately turned to one of his advisors and said, “Get rid of her… Take her out.”
Giuliani approached me in November 2018 to ask about my contacts in Ukraine. At the time, I was aware how Trump, Giuliani, Sessions, and others felt about the country. But it escalated that December, at a Chanukah Party encounter in the Red Room of the White House, where Trump, through Giuliani, tasked me with finding the disgraced prosecutor Viktor Shokin.
I met Shokin for the first time in Ukraine to relay Giuliani’s message – that the Trump administration could help him be reinstated in the government, but only if he provided hard evidence of Joe Biden’s corruption. Shokin was eager and willing to help.
Upon my return, Giuliani told me to ask Shokin to fly to the U.S. to meet with Senator Lindsey Graham. But Giuliani stipulated that Shokin should not tell the visa authorities he was meeting anybody, only that he was seeing family in the States. When he applied for his visa, then- Ambassador Yovanovitch denied him.
Several weeks of communications ensued with Giuliani attempting to pressure Shokin for information on the Bidens, with Shokin becoming more and more skeptical. Shokin finally conceded that he had no evidence that either Hunter or Joe Biden had ever interfered with Ukrainian law.
My mission for Giuliani and Trump would come to encompass nearly a year of traveling across the globe to find damaging information on the Bidens. This included trips to Ukraine, Poland, Spain, Vienna, London, and other locations. The assignment led me to speak with several shady characters as well as public figures – sometimes with those two characterizations being one and the same. I communicated with oligarchs, billionaires, politicians, and presidents of different countries. It became evident that Trump and Giuliani were running their own shadow diplomacy.
In my travels, I found precisely zero proof of the Bidens’ criminality. Instead, what I learned in that timeframe was the true nature of the conspiracy that the Kremlin was forcing through Russian, Ukrainian, American, and other channels to interfere in our elections. Ultimately this was meant to benefit Trump’s re-election, which would in turn benefit Vladimir Putin.
This all came to a head with the formation of what we called the “BLT Team.” At Trump’s behest, in early 2019 Giuliani convened a group of political and media professionals for regular strategy meetings at BLT Steak in Washington, D.C. Among others, this group included John Solomon, an investigative reporter for The Hill who had many contacts at FOX News. Then- Congressman Devin Nunes, who had been leading his own investigation into the Bidens, also decided to work with the BLT Team. I coordinated at least two Skype interviews with Ukrainian officials and a Nunes senior staff member for the purposes of Nunes’ investigation. Like my efforts before, these interviews still provided no evidence that the Bidens had done anything unlawful.
Though he did not attend the BLT Team meetings, I was told in that setting that Senator Ron Johnson would be “our guy in the Senate,” responsible for pushing all the information we were getting. But he would actually end up spreading unverified conspiracy theories instead.
Because the BLT Team’s investigations were centered around Biden and Ukraine, I was designated the point person in every matter they pursued. That is how I know today with certainty that these stories were lies.
Every person integral to this shadow diplomacy knew that the Biden corruption rumors were baseless. Then-Congressman Devin Nunes, Senator Ron Johnson, and many other individuals understood that they were pushing a false narrative. The same goes for John Solomon, Sean Hannity, and media personnel, particularly at FOX News, who used that narrative to manipulate the public ahead of the 2020 election. They are still doing this today, as we approach the 2024 election.
We cannot divorce the impact of this conspiracy from the Russia-Ukraine war, because Trump has no intention to keep aiding Ukraine. I told him in 2018, and I am telling all of you now, that without the support of the United States and NATO, Ukraine will not be able to withstand the barrage from the Russian Army. Millions of people will suffer and die.
You may think, “What happens in Ukraine is not my problem.” But if we allow Russia to defeat Ukraine, eventually that same suffering will reach American shores. If we do not support Ukraine now, we will see an America where we need to have troops on the ground defending our country, in cities and towns where everyone’s lives as they know it will have been destroyed.
I understand this better than anybody, because I was the messenger that Trump and Giuliani sent to Ukraine to deliver handshake arrangements in 2019. First to Ukraine’s then-president Poroshenko, where the message was that Trump would support Poroshenko in his election if he agreed to investigate the Bidens. Then with Prosecutor General Lutsenko, who agreed to help us dig up information on the Bidens in exchange for a meeting with then-U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr. Lutsenko eventually admitted he could find nothing to incriminate the Bidens, and his meeting with Barr never materialized.
One memory from this time especially stuck with me. After a heated argument with Giuliani about his lack of results, Lutsenko turned to me and said, “You Americans constantly talk about fighting political corruption. But how ironic that you are now doing the exact same thing [to Ukraine]. You’re pushing us and forcing us to announce a fake investigation against a political rival for your own gains.”
He was right. On May 11, 2019, ahead of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s inauguration, I was assigned to deliver a quid pro quo to Ukraine’s new president. Meeting with his Chief of Staff, I gave the message as Giuliani specified: Unless Zelenskyy announced an investigation into the Bidens, the U.S. would stop all aid to Ukraine.
This message would be one that Trump would repeat to Zelenskyy through several different members of his team, including then-Secretary of Energy Rick Perry. “Investigate Joe Biden, or the U.S. will pull its aid.” But Zelenskyy still refused to yield.
There is much more to this story, as you all undoubtedly know. I detailed in my previous letter to this Committee on July 18, 2023 how the BLT Team had developed the idea of linking Hunter Biden’s position with Burisma and the incident with his compromised laptop to their falsities about Joe Biden’s corruption. I explained how we chased every lead on this idea and came up with nothing. How the contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop, while personally embarrassing, contained no evidence of financial or political criminal activity and had no connection to Joe Biden at all. How Giuliani offered Burisma head Zlochevsky what was essentially a “get out of jail free” card, promising to help him out of being prosecuted by the U.S., if he gave up dirt on the Bidens. Even then, when Zlochevsky had the incentive to lie and save his own skin, the businessman denied that he had any such evidence on the Bidens whatsoever. His statements to that effect, which have been published in the House Oversight Committee’s report, debunk all the conspiracy theories.
Yet the conspiracies persisted. When I realized the true nature of the situation, I took every opportunity possible to speak out, even though it put me at great personal risk. Then-Congressman Devin Nunes, who was the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chair at the time, tried to discredit me in countless ways. But as I am sure you all remember, during the impeachment hearings, Congressman Eric Swalwell entered a Daily Beast article into evidence which stated that Nunes and I had been working together. Nunes denied it. The next day, in front of the whole world, Congressman Adam Schiff produced subpoenaed telephone records which showed several coordinated calls between Nunes and me, Giuliani, and the White House. Nunes claimed that my wife, not me, may have called him, but when Committee members questioned him, he could offer no explanation as to why he would have taken several phone calls with her.
Since late 2019, I have tried to convey all of these facts to federal prosecutors, including special prosecutor Scott Brady, but the Justice Department ignored me, apparently electing to listen to compromised informants instead.
I offered to give testimony at the first impeachment hearings in 2019, but there were no witnesses or evidence introduced at the “trial.” Republicans in Congress did not want to have me as a witness then, in any event.
However, despite these high-level professional attempts to silence me, I am standing here now. I will state again for the record that the story of Joe and Hunter Biden’s corruption in Ukraine is false; there is absolutely no evidence to support it. I will repeat that everyone who participated in fabricating these lies knew exactly what they were doing. By giving in to the conspiracy theories, we allow Russia to use our government for malicious purposes, and to reward selfish people with ill-gotten gains. It is time to stand up and recognize the truth at this pivotal moment – for Ukraine, for our country, and for our future.
Thank you to the Committee for allowing me to speak to you. I am grateful that the truth will at last be told. I look forward to answering any and all questions.
