GOP Sen. John Cornyn on Sunday disputed a government watchdog report that the Trump administration’s decision to withhold to aid to Ukraine broke the law and dismissed Lev Parnas’ connections to President Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani, describing Giuliani’s business associate as a “grifter” and “hanger-on.”
“[It’s] certainly not a crime and something that no one had ever dreamed in the past would have risen to the level of impeachment,” Cornyn told CBS News host Margaret Brennan during an appearance on “Face the Nation.”
The Government Accountability Office last week issued a report that said the White House violated the Impoundment Control Act by temporarily withholding $400 million in military aid to Ukraine.
Cornyn also suggested Parnas’ Ukraine evidence shouldn’t be admissible in Trump’s Senate impeachment trial. Parnas last week accused the president of being informed of his actions and outlining a quid pro quo with Ukraine.
“I would be careful before crediting the veracity of someone who is under indictment from the Southern District of New York and who’s trying to get leniency from the prosecutor,” Cornyn said.
Brennan asked Cornyn if it troubled him that Parnas was working so closely with Giuliani.
“Well, there’s no question that there have been a series of grifters and hangers on that have associated themselves with the president’s campaign or claim to have special relationships with the president,” Cornyn answered. “But this is not the issue that the Senate is going to be deciding. We’ll take the issue of evidence as it comes. If the impeachment managers want to rest their case on the credibility someone under indictment in the Southern District of New York with extensive ties to Russian oligarchs and organized crime, as you point out, then that’s their choice.”
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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