Trump 'knew exactly what was going on' during Ukraine plot, indicted Giuliani associate says

Donald Trump knew all about efforts to dig up dirt on Joe Biden in Ukraine and to undermine the US ambassador to the former Soviet state, one of his personal lawyer's associates has said.

In his first television interview since being indicted for campaign finance violations, Florida-based businessman Lev Parnas – an ally of the president's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani – told MSNBC: "President Trump knew exactly what was going on."

Mr Trump was impeached by the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives on 18 December over his alleged efforts to pressure the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to announce investigations into Mr Biden and his son Hunter, who had been on the board of an energy company in Ukraine called Burisma.

On Wednesday the House formally handed the articles of impeachment – alleging abuse of power and obstruction of Congress – to the Senate, which will now hold a trial of the president. In theory it could see him removed from office, although this is extremely unlikely as the upper chamber is controlled by his fellow Republicans.

Mr Parnas, who has been cooperating with authorities since he and another Giuliani associate, Igor Fruman, were arrested last year, told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow that Mr Trump "was aware of all my movements".

He said: "I wouldn't do anything without the consent of Rudy Giuliani or the president. I have no intent, I have no reason to speak to any of these officials.

"I mean, they have no reason to speak to me. Why would President Zelensky's inner circle or Minister Avakov or all these people or President Poroshenko meet with me? Who am I? They were told to meet with me. And that's the secret that they're trying to keep. I was on the ground doing their work."

He said the president was specifically aware that their efforts in Ukraine were focused on discrediting Democrats. He said: "Yeah, it was all about Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, and also Rudy had a personal thing with the Manafort stuff. The black ledger. And that was another thing that they were looking into, but it was never about corruption. It was never — it was strictly about Burisma, which included Hunter Biden and Joe Biden."

Paul Manafort, Mr Trump's former campaign manager, was jailed on charges of bank and tax fraud last year. He had extensive business connections in Ukraine.

Mr Giuliani has repeatedly claimed that he was operating in Ukraine on Mr Trump's behalf although the president himself has been more guarded.

In November Mr Trump distanced himself from his lawyer in an interview with disgraced former Fox News host Bill O'Reilly.

“No, I didn’t direct him,” Mr Trump told the conservative media personality, when asked if he had told Mr Giuliani to “put any heat” on Ukrainian officials. “But he’s a warrior. Rudy’s a warrior. Rudy went. He possibly saw something.”

“You have to ask Rudy,” he said, when pressed on why his personal lawyer was in Ukraine, where US officials have testified he had been working on behalf of the president as a part of an alternate diplomatic channel.

Mr Giuliani has admitted he wanted the US ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, "out of the way".

She was abruptly recalled last year following a smear campaign against her. It has been alleged that she was forced out because she was standing in the way of efforts by Mr Giuliani, Mr Parnas and others to dig up or fabricate dirt on Mr Trump's political opponents ahead of this year's election.

Mr Parnas gave the television interview a day after his lawyer submitted a series of documents from his client to Congress. These included claims that Mr Giuliani told Ukrainian officials he was working for Mr Trump and that Ms Yovanovitch may have been under surveillance by a Republican donor named Robert Hyde.