Republican campaigns unload donations from Giuliani's indicted associates

Source: CNN

(CNN) - Republican lawmakers and political action committees that took money from Rudy Giuliani's two associates who are now at the center of the Ukraine scandal are distancing themselves from the donors facing criminal charges, according to a CNN survey. Soviet-born businessmen Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman and their company, Global Energy Producers, gave more than $621,000 to various Republican political campaigns in the past two election cycles, including the 2018 midterms, which saw Republicans lose control of the House, according to the Federal Election Committee.

But many of those Republican campaigns and committees are giving away the donations after federal prosecutors indicted Parnas and Fruman, along with two other men, on charges of violating campaign finance laws and lying to the FEC. They have pleaded not guilty. At least six campaigns said the tainted money will be, or has already been, donated to charity. CNN heard from nine of the 26 Republican lawmakers who directly received money from Parnas or Fruman about the allocation of these funds. Eight of these nine campaigns said they would not be keeping the money. The other campaigns and committees could not be reached for comment or did not respond to requests from CNN.

The communications director for the pro-Trump super PAC America First Action told CNN the committee put funds it had received from Global Energy Producers in a "segregated bank account" until the investigations are resolved. The company linked to Parnas and Fruman gave America First Action a total of $325,000 last year, the spokesman said. Representatives for nearly all of these campaigns stressed that their committees had no direct contact with Parnas or Fruman, who are accused of funneling foreign money to US campaigns. Six campaigns that responded to requests from CNN said that they had not been contacted by the FBI or impeachment investigators on Capitol Hill about the donations. The Southern District of New York has subpoenaed former GOP Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas on matters related to the impeachment probe.

House Democrats have already subpoenaed Giuliani -- who is President Donald Trump's personal attorney -- Parnas and Fruman for information about the donations and related efforts to dig up dirt in Ukraine about former Vice President Joe Biden. Giuliani said the two men connected him with former Ukrainian prosecutors who alleged wrongdoing by Biden and his son. There is no evidence that the Bidens did anything illegal. A spokesman for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told CNN that he will reroute the money to a "local charity." McCarthy, who is the highest-ranking Republican in the House, received the maximum donation of $2,700 from Parnas in 2018, according to the FEC.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/25/politics/republican-donors-giuliani-associates/index.html