Oligarch: Giuliani Offered to Help With Legal Problems, if I Helped Pressure Ukraine

Rudy Giuliani offered to help an indicted Ukrainian oligarch with his U.S. legal problems if he, in turn, helped with Giuliani’s pressure campaign on the Ukrainian government, according to the oligarch. Dmytro Firtash, an energy tycoon linked to the Kremlin who’s facing extradition to the U.S. on bribery and racketeering charges, spoke to The New York Times. Firtash claims that, in June, he met with Giuliani associates Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, who offered help with his Justice Department problems if he hired two lawyers close to President Trump—Joseph diGenova and Victoria Toensing—and helped with Giuliani’s dirt-digging mission on the Biden family’s activities in Ukraine. Parnas’ lawyer has confirmed his client met Firtash at Giuliani’s request, and encouraged the oligarch to help in the hunt for compromising information “as part of any potential resolution to his extradition matter.” Firtash said he had no information about the Bidens and hadn’t paid for the search for it. “Without my will and desire... I was sucked into this internal U.S. fight,” he said.