SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Oct 13 - In the Lev Parnas and
Andrey Kukushkin jury trial,
opening statements took place
on the morning of October 13.
Inner City Press live tweeted
it here
(and podcast here)
Vlog here.
Assistant US
Attorney Flodr: This was
secret foreign money
influencing American
elections. That is what this
trial is about. So what will
the evidence show? The Russian
tycoon is Muraviev, who was
called "Big Andre." He was the
money behind businesses in the
US
AUSA Flodr: Lev
Parnas had become a big
political donor, with a
partner named Igor Fruman.
[Parnas' lawyer last week called
Fruman "the glue"]
AUSA: They wanted
to enter the business of
legalized marijuana. It was
hard to get the licenses
AUSA: This group
paid careful attention to the
laws about legalized
marijuana, but chose to
violate the law about foreign
contribution. Kukukshin and
Parnas knew they could not say
the money came from Russian
Big Andre. No politician would
take that donation
AUSA Flodr: So
they used the name of their
business, a so called straw
donation. Kukukshin's boss
would provide $1 million.
Parnas and his business
partner would hand out the
money under their own name.
There were two $500,000
payments.
AUSA Flodr:
Parnas' partner reminded
Kukukshin that his boss was
supposed to pay before the
November election. Kukukshin
pushed for the 2d $500,000 -
and Big Andre came through a
few days later. You will see
they concealed the Russian
tycoon's role.
AUSA: The money
came from two businesses in
Cyprus, with accounts in the
country of Georgia. The loan
documents do not mention the
Russian tycoon or marijuana.
It was just a charade. It was
an illegal political
contribution.
AUSA Flodr:
Parnas set up a company,
without any mention of the
Russian tycoon bankrolling it.
They used the import-export
company. They spent on
expensive flights &
pocketed some of the money
themselves. Only $100,000 went
to contributions. Does that
matter? No.
AUSA: The law is triggered at
$25,000 and they went over
that. Right before election
day, tempers flared. Parnas
wanted more money; Kukukshin
said his boss wanted results.
They fought over text
messages. Parnas said, Let's
not leave a record.
AUSA Flodr: They
got happy: one of the
politicians they supported got
elected governor and took a
selfie with Lev Parnas. Big
Andrey liked it. Next,
he arranged a payment from
Global Energy, GEP. It had not
HQ, no assets. The money came
from a loan on a condo
AUSA: Then there
was an FEC investigation.
Kukukshin told Big Andrey
about it - showing that he
knew it was wrong. Kukukshin
knew Parnas was in trouble but
went ahead and worked with him
anyway. Parnas doubled down, a
false affidavit, claiming it
was all GEP
AUSA: These
falsehoods broke the law too:
lying to the Federal Elections
Commission. Now, the charges:
conspiring to make donations
for a foreign donor, and false
statements to the FEC. Parnas
is further charged with
seeking $25,000 or more from
abroad
AUSA Flodr:
This will be proved by the
defendants' own words and text
messages. They sent pictures
with the politicians they were
paying to influence. They
missed the application
deadline in Nevada, they
needed the help of Attorney
General and gov
AUSA Flodr:
They even shared news articles
about their crimes. They left
Kukukshin's boss off the
forms, to hide the Russian
money trail. You'll hear how
Parnas presented himself as a
major donor. You'll hear from
the FEC. The American people
have a right to know
AUSA: You will
hear from a forensic
accountant. The evidence will
not come in in the same order
as the defendants committed
their crimes. By the end,
you'll know the reason for all
the lies. Pay attention,
follow Judge Oetken's
instructions, use your common
sense
AUSA Flodr: If
you do those things, you will
find Lev Parnas and Andrey
Kukukshin guilty. Judge
Oetken: Thank you Ms. Flodr.
Now, Mr Brody [Parnas' lead
lawyer]
Bondy: I thank
the government for the bottle
of water. Parnas' lawyer
Bondy: Mr. Parnas did not
solicit Mr. Muraviev, or
donate in another name. He
started Global Energy
Producers, with Igor Fruman,
to ship American natural gas.
He didn't make any knowing
false statements.
Parnas' lawyer
Bondy: You can throw the
indictment in the trash. It
has no evidentiary value. I'm
proud to represent him. It's
like we take a walk in the
forest, bring your kids to
swim in a creek, algae on
stones. But turn it over- a
brilliant universe underneath
Parnas'
lawyer Bondy: Sometimes the
things we hear 1st of
someone are false. We will
examine the witnesses under
oath. You'll see documents
from us. Lev was naturalized
in Brooklyn as a teenager.
Yes, he worked as a
stockbroker. But he never
graduated from college
Parnas' lawyer
Bondy: He settled near Boca
Raton, a community of Soviet
emigres. He met Igor Fruman.
Mr. Parnas around 2016 became
involved in Republican
politics. That might not be
some of our's stripe, but he
did it. He posted on Instagram
Parnas'
lawyer Bondy: Lev went to
Washington, agreed to make a
donation to America First
Action, gas and oil industry.
There was an even coming up,
at the Trump International
Hotel on 4/30/2018. It was a
bona fide capital investment.
Like a start up.
Parnas'
lawyer Bondy: They call it
A-1-A, America First Action.
They try to extract money from
you and your family to max
out. There'll be witnesses,
trained in law firms - a chief
of staff to Congressperson
Pete Session - even they
didn't understand election law
Parnas' lawyer
Bondy: Mr. Parnas talked about
supporting Mr. Sessions in the
office - Caroline went across
the street to do it. You'll
see emails. Bundling,
contributions on one credit
card, that's what he was
talking about with Ms Booth.
She asked Pete Sessions
Parnas'
lawyer Bondy: She was told, it
would be better on more than
one credit card. Then there
was an event with Donald Trump
Jr, & with Donald Trump...
Lev Parnas was fighting
against cannabis prohibition.
He brought the president a
memo on legalizing marijuana
Parnas'
lawyer Bondy: There's the 4/20
meeting at Mar-a-Lago and the
4/30 meeting at Trump
International Hotel. Then
there's an FEC complaint
against Global Energy
Producers, calling it a sham
company. That's not true. Mr.
Laxalt was aware of it. Lev
met Kukukshin
Parnas'
lawyer Bondy: Lev met Mr.
Kukukshin, he's wearing a
black mask. Our defenses are
completely separate. They met
in Nevada, to rally for Mr.
Adam Laxalt, who will be a
witness. Marijuana businesses
rely on licenses.
Parnas'
lawyer Bondy: Nevada was the
third state to legalize
medical marijuana. But its
legislator has short sessions
so there is a lot of lobbying.
You will hear from a Nevada
cannabis lawyer.
Parnas' lawyer
Bondy: Mr. Parnas started
flying around with Rudy
Giuliani, America's Mayor. Mr.
Giuliani is not a cannabis
guy... Mr. Parnas got a loan
from Mr. Muraviev. He was
allowed to use it any way he
wanted - including political
contributions.
Parnas'
lawyer Bondy: Some of these
donations were made after Mr.
Muraviev's money was
dissipated, some were made
with money from a coffee
company, a client of Mr.
Fruman. Mr. Parnas is not a
diplomat, he is not a lawyer.
Parnas' lawyer
Bondy: Mr. Parnas asked
Treasury Secretary Mnuchin,
when will marijuana companies
be able to be banked? No one
told him anything was wrong.
He filed an affidavit with the
FEC, and a supplement in
September 2019. The DOJ was
unaware until weeks ago
Parnas' lawyer
Bondy: Mr. David Correia
worked for Mr. Parnas
[and pleaded guilty; Inner
City Press got his filing(s)
unsealed: documentcloud.org
Unsealed affidavit of David
Correia's quitting lawyers,
Inner City Press filed to
unseal
Parnas'
lawyer Bondy: I will explain
at the end of the case, there
was no knowledge. Mr. Parnas
tried to move natural gas to
counter the power of Russia.
He tried to legalize
marijuana. That's what this
case is really about. At end,
the only verdict is not
guilty.
Judge
Oetken: Thank you Mr. Bondy.
Mr. Lefcourt? Kukukshin's
lawyer Gerald Lefcourt: This
case is about how $1 million
was stolen. Mr. client was
charged in only two of the six
counts. He was born in Ukraine
and came here as an adult. He
was naturalized at 26
Lefcourt: He was
a tennis teacher and he met
Andrey Muraviev, a Russian who
wanted to learn about America.
They became friends. Mr.
Kukukshin got a job at a
company with offices in Geneva
and Moscow. They met again in
Moscow. Muraviev was
successful
Lefcourt: They
decide to go into the
legalized cannabis business in
California, a medical cannabis
dispensary in San Francisco
then one in Sacramento. They
bought property in Livermore,
California, and started Oasis
to cultivate marijuana.
Lefcourt:
Mr.Kukushkin reached out to
Mr. Fruman, also from Odessa.
What a mistake that was.
That's how he ended up here.
Fruman was a partner of Mr.
Parnas; Mr. Fruman has the
idea of getting Mr. Muraviev's
money. He feigns interested in
Oasis
Lefcourt: Mr.
Kukushkin only met Mr. Parnas
mid 2018, July, after all the
Global Energy Producers
contributions. Note - some
foreign nationals can
contribute to campaigns. Green
card holders can. They had no
idea of the rules.
Lefcourt: Correia
tells Parnas that Kukukshin's
issue is "retarded." They are
looking at Kukukshin is a
nothing. "He needs a lot of
hand-holding on some very easy
issues. This is a great
opportunity for us." Kukukshin
was just a way to get to Mr.
Muraviev
Lefcourt:
Everyone was in Vegas for a
different reason. They
arranged the $500,000 loan -
and it was used to pay off a
monstrous credit card debt of
$495,000. So it didn't go for
the joint venture. So the
contributions had nothing to
do with Kukushkin.
Lefcourt:
They claim in this chart they
gave NY Governor Andrew Cuomo
$125,000, and Senator
Gillabrand other thousands.
It's a lie.
Lefcourt: So the
second $500,000 comes in.
Fruman takes $100,000. Another
$79,000 go to a credit card
bill. And more than $200,000
to Global Energy Producers.
Then jewelry. They just whack
it up. They just take it.
Lefcourt: Now Mr.
Fruman asks for another $2
million. But Mr. Muraviev
shuts it down. There's no
paying back. There are no
foreign contributions. All Mr.
Kukushkin and Mr. Muraviev
wanted were licenses and
offices. Mr. Kukushkin has
never voted in his life.
Lefcourt: We all
remember that at that time
there was paranoia about
Russians. The government is
going to argue that there was
an attempt to hide things. But
there were no illegal
contributions. Use your common
sense and find Andrey
Kukushkin not guilty.
Judge Oetken:
Jurors, I'll give you a break,
then I'll pass out notebooks.
On October 11
Kukushkin asked to exclude a
slew of Government Exhibits,
full 8-page letter on Patreon
here.
On October 5
Judge Oetken held the final
pre-trial conference in
advance of October 12 jury
selection. Inner City Press
live tweeted it here
and below (podcast here)
Late on October 7
the US Attorney's Office has
written to Judge Oetken
seeking rulings in advance to
admit exhibits including "The
Inaugural Committee Articles,
the FEC Complaint Article, the
Time cover, and the Russian
Root Emails." Full letter on
Patreon here.
And now, song here.
On September 10,
Igor "The Glue" Fruman pleaded
guilty. Inner City Press live
tweeted it here
(with vlog;
podcast here)
The
case is US
v. Parnas, et
al.,
19-cr-00725
(Oetken).
***
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