A pair of Soviet-born South Florida businessmen with ties to President Trump’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani, will not comply with congressional requests for documents and depositions as part of the House’s formal impeachment inquiry into the president.
John Dowd, a former Trump attorney representing Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, told the Miami Herald that the two would not respond to a documents request by the Monday deadline. He added that neither of the individuals would appear for depositions scheduled for later this week.
{mosads}Parnas and Fruman are facing scrutiny from multiple House committees as part of their investigation into revelations from a whistleblower that Trump sought to pressure Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden.
As part of the inquiry, the chairmen of the House Intelligence, Oversight and Reform and Foreign Affairs committees subpoenaed Giuliani for documents related to the Trump administration’s dealings with Ukraine. They also scheduled depositions with three of Giuliani’s business associates, including Parnas and Fruman.
Giuliani has not said whether he will comply with the House’s request. The committee gave him an Oct. 15 deadline to hand over documents.
“I got certain information and I thought it was my duty to hand it over,” he told the Herald on Sept. 26.
Parnas and Fruman are among the several individuals who have received documents and deposition requests as part of the House’s impeachment inquiry.
A day before Dowd’s comment, The Associated Press reported that the two were at the center of a push to persuade Ukraine to instal new management at the top of the country’s state gas company.