Lev Parnas, a former assistant to Rudy Giuliani who has been convicted, on Wednesday urged for a probe into former Attorney General Bill Barr regarding his arrest in 2019.
During a GOP-led House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing on Wednesday, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) asked Parnas if Barr should be looked into for his behavior while in office. The focus of the hearing was Republican claims against the Biden family, but Parnas disputed their allegations, stating they came from Russian intelligence officers. Parnas stated that his arrest in October 2019 was part of a plan by the Justice Department, led by Barr, to safeguard former President Trump. He said, "I strongly believe that and also believe Bill Barr should be investigated for attempting to cover up and silence me to reveal the truth of what actually happened."
He argued Parnas was then probed further on why he believed Barr warranted investigation. He explained that he was used as a scapegoat to deflect blame and prevent Trump from being impeached at the time. He further added, "My arrest was a setup purely to silence me, confiscate all my documents, erase all my information, and portray me as a delusional person with no way to prove what was happening. However, the real story was that Bill Barr was trying to shield Donald Trump from impeachment and using me as a scapegoat."
Parnas stated, "What he didn't realize was that Donald Trump wasn't going to stop and continued to do as he pleased, which backfired on Bill Barr. He also hired special counsel [Scott] Brady at the time to look into Ukraine, and we attempted to contact special counsel Brady through my attorney, but he never returned our call. No one was interested in hearing anything I had to say regarding Ukraine, Donald Trump, or Rudy Giuliani."
Parnas, chosen as a witness for Wednesday's hearing by Democrats, was charged with fraud and campaign finance offenses and was given a 20-month prison sentence in 2022. Since his release last year, he has opposed the GOP's inquiry into whether President Biden was linked to Hunter Biden's business dealings.
He also revealed in July that Giuliani and others involved in the matter "knew that these allegations against the Bidens were unfounded."
“Throughout all these months of work, the extensive campaigns and networking done by Trump allies and Giuliani associates, including the enormously thorough interviews and assignments that I undertook, there has never been any evidence that Hunter or
committed any crimes related to Ukrainian politics,” he wrote at the time.
He said in a letter The Hill has contacted Barr's law firm for comment.
Lev Parnas, a convicted former aide to Rudy Giuliani, called Wednesday for an investigation into former Attorney General Bill Barr over his arrest in 2019. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) asked Parnas during a GOP-led House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing on Wednesday whether Barr should be investigated for his conduct while he was in office.… Joe Biden committed any crimes related to Ukrainian politics,” he wrote at the time.
The Hill has reached out to Barr’s law firm for comment.
