One of the “fixers” linked to Rudy Giuliani in the Ukraine scandal that led to former president Trump’s first impeachment trial is reportedly planning to change his plea to guilty in the campaign contributions case.
Igor Fruman had been charged along with his then-partner Lev Parnas with making illegal campaign contributions. But according to a court docket, Fruman will switch his not guilty plea to guilty when he appears in court on Wednesday.
Why would Fruman, who refused to cooperate with prosecutors during Trump’s first impeachment trial, change his plea now? Legal experts wonder if it means Fruman has cut a deal with the feds.
Fruman and Parnas were both charged in October 2019 in a case that revealed a plot traced back to the White House that involved planning the ouster of the former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch. But while Parnas cut a deal, Fruman, known as the quieter one of the two Giuliani associates, did not.
Speaking of Giuliani, could Fruman’s guilty plea spell trouble for the president’s former personal lawyer? Giuliani is already under a federal probe and his behavior following the 2020 presidential election has cost him the ability to practice law in New York and Washington, D.C. Wednesday could shed more light on whether his former Soviet-born friend has put another bullseye on his back.