Giuliani Associate’s Ukraine Insider Thought Russia Was Protecting Fired US Ambassador: Texts

House Democrats on Tuesday released a cache of notes and text messages from former Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas, shedding significant light on key aspects of ‘Ukrainegate‘ at the heart of impeachment proceedings against President Trump. This includes efforts to get the former US Ambassador to Ukraine recalled, as well as Rudy Giuliani laying out his mission and the situation in Ukraine at the time.

The first segment of the 38-page release contains several pages of undated, unverified, hand-written notes from the Ritz-Carlton Vienna, ostensibly penned by Parnas – which state “get zelensky to announce that the Biden case will be investigated,” and “Put together package,” followed by “Go to D.C. with package,” and “Do my ‘magic’ and cut deal.”

The second segment details January, 2019 efforts by Parnas to have Rudy Giuliani secure a visa for Viktor Shokin – the former Ukrainian prosecutor who instead testified via a January, 2019 phone call that he was fired at the request of then-VP Joe Biden for investigating Burisma – a Ukrainian gas company which hired Biden’s son hunter for more than $50,000 per month to sit on its board.

“Btw they declined his visa today,” Parnas wrote Giuliani, referring to Shokin, to which Giuliani responds “I can revive it.”

Despite Giuliani involving “no 1” on it (possibly Trump), he was ultimately unable to secure the visa, leading to Shokin’s testimony via telephone.

The third segment of the release involves discussions from March, 2019 between Parnas and an associate surrounding the effort to get former US ambassador Marie Yovanovitch fired. The associate, Congressional House GOP candidate Robert F. Hyde of Connecticut, appears to have ties within the incoming Zelensky administration – which wanted Yovanovitch fired.

“Fuck that bitch” Hyde texts Parnas – referring to fired US ambassador Marie Yovanovich, who ran the US embassy in Kiev at the time. “Wow. Can’t believe Trumo [sic] hasn’t fired this bitch. I’ll get right in that.”

Without instruction from Parnas, Hyde then texts Parnas to let him know that his associates on the ‘inside’ say she is “under heavy protection outside Kiev,” to which Parnas replies “I know crazy shit.”

Then, Hyde says ‘his guy’ (within the Zelensky administration) thinks Russia’s FSB may be protecting Yovanovitch.

Here is the entire exchange between Parnas and Hyde (emphasis ours,  via /u/ihategelatine) – which is currently being used to suggest nefarious intentions against Yovanovitch.

Robert F. Hyde: Fuck that bitch

Parnas: [links multiple articles]

Robert F. Hyde: Wow. Can’t believe Trumo [sic] hasn’t fired this bitch. I’ll get right in that.

Robert F. Hyde: [Links multiple articles/pictures]

Robert F. Hyde: She under heavy protection outside Kiev

Parnas: I know crazy shit

Robert F. Hyde: My guy thinks maybe FSB..?

Parnas: [Links articles]

Robert F. Hyde: [Links picture]

Parnas: Interesting

Robert F. Hyde: [Links to article]: www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house/white-house-personnel-official-described-trump-gop-nomination-as-end-of-the-world

Robert F. Hyde: What should I do with this?

Robert F. Hyde: They are moving her tomorrow

Robert F. Hyde: The guys over they asked what I would like to do and what is in it for them

Robert F. Hyde: Wake up Yankees man

Robert F. Hyde: She’s talked to three people. Her phone is off. Computer is off.

Robert F. Hyde: She’s next to the embassy

Robert F. Hyde: Not in the embassy

Robert F. Hyde: Private security. Been there since Thursday.

Parnas: Interesting

Robert F. Hyde: They know she’s a political puppet

Robert F. Hyde: They will let me know when she’s on the move

Robert F. Hyde: And they will let me know when she’s on the move

Parnas: Perfect

Robert F. Hyde: I mean where if they can find out.

Robert F. Hyde: That adress I sent you checks out

Robert F. Hyde: It’s next to the embassy

Robert F. Hyde: They are willing to help if we/you would like a price

Robert F. Hyde: Guess you can do anything in the Ukraine with money… what I was told

Parnas: Lol

Robert F. Hyde: Update she will not be moved special security unit upgraded force on the compound people are already aware of the situation my contacts are asking what is the next step because cannot keep going to check people will start to ask questions

Robert F. Hyde: If you want her out they need to make contact with security forces

Robert F. Hyde: From Ukranians

Robert F. Hyde: What’s the word bro

Robert F. Hyde: Any good stuff?

Parnas: Call you soon in studio

Robert F. Hyde: Let’s go Holmes

Robert F. Hyde: RG was good. But Ingraham had some hard questions

Robert F. Hyde: Nothing has changed she is still not moving they check today again

Robert F. Hyde: Hi buddy

Robert F. Hyde: It’s confirmed we have a person inside

Parnas: [Links youtube video]: “Trumps takedown of FBI (Winning montage!)”

Robert F. Hyde: Nice

Robert F. Hyde: Hey brother do we stand down??? Or you still need intel be safe

Robert F. Hyde: She had visitors

Robert F. Hyde: It’s confirmed we have a person inside

Robert F. Hyde: Hey broski tell me what we are doing what’s the next step

Weeks after the exchange between Hyde and Parnas, Yovanovitch was recalled as ambassador on April 25, 2019.  Exactly three months later on July 25, Trump would tell Zelensky on a now-infamous phone call that Yovanovitch was “going through some things.”

The fourth and fifth segments contain a May 10 letter from Giuliani to Zelensky asking for a 30-minute meeting, and unidentified text messages from May, 2019.

The sixth segment contains what appears to be Rudy spitballing his case to Parnas, writing in several texts on May 11:

“I am going to say I have been informed the people advising the PRES ELECT [Zelensky] are no friends of the President [Trump]. At least one was involved in delivering fraudulent evidence falsely accusing the campaign and made horrible statements about his desire to defeat him. Hopefully Pres elect will realize that tge [sic] operatives around him don’t have his best interests at heart.”

“I concluded that the President elect is being advised by people who were very vocal opponents of President Trump and peculiarly vocal supporters of Hillary Clinton, in particular Sergei Leschenko. He has already been found to have acted improperly with regard to our 2016 election. Under these circumstances the meeting would have accomplished little and may be in the hands of those who might misrepresent it. My purpose was to share information to assist their on-going investigation of Ukrainian officials being used by Americans to gather information to assist Clinton in last election. It was also to alert them to the very real dangers that their [sic] are people involved in the investigation as targets who are attempting to shut it down before it reaches a conclusion. This investigation has the potential to reveal some of the people who originated and/or propagated the false claim of collusion which has been found to be false now by 2, not 1, FBI investigations. The false charge didn’t emerge from thin air. If it didn’t originate in Ukraine, there is evidence it was pursued there and pursued using illicit means.”

Parnas seems to be confused by Giuliani’s text, writing back “Is this a statement you issued?”

In response to the released documents, Marie Yovanovitch told MSNBC that there should be an investigation into whether she was monitored in Ukraine.