Ukraine has implicated three associates of U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani in a plot to help Russia meddle in the 2020 US presidential election. The U.S. Intelligence Community has concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election in favor of Trump and to undermine his opponent, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Ukrainian prosecutors have alleged that three men, Lev Parnas, Igor Fruman, and Andrii Derkach, worked with Giuliani to advance plans to interfere in the 2020 election. The allegations are part of a larger investigation into corrupt influence in Ukrainian politics and the activities of prominent Ukrainians who allegedly sought to benefit from their relationships with US political figures. All three men have been charged in the United States with federal campaign finance violations as well as conspiracy to defraud the United States.
The allegations claim the men had targeted various political figures in both Ukraine and the United States in an attempt to advance their own political objectives and interfere in the US election. The men are accused of attempting to discredit former Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko by providing compromising information about him to a US journalist. They are also accused of attempting to undermine the candidacy of former Vice President Joe Biden, a leading candidate for the Democratic Presidential nomination.
The Trump administration has denied any knowledge of the alleged plot. However, the US Intelligence Community, members of Congress, and other news outlets have raised questions about the conduct of Giuliani and his associates. If the developments in Ukraine are confirmed, this could have serious implications for the integrity of the 2020 US presidential election.
