Lev Parnas demands William Barr's recusal from his criminal case

Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas demanded Monday that Attorney General William Barr recuse himself from his criminal case over allegations that Barr played a part in President Donald Trump’s hunt for Ukrainian dirt on Democrats.

Parnas, who has broken with Team Trump in spectacular fashion and is angling to testify at the president’s Senate impeachment trial, had his lawyer, Joseph Bondy, send a letter to Barr outlining several purported conflicts of interests that should preclude the attorney general from having any sway over the ex-Giuliani pal’s case.

“Given the totality of the circumstances, we believe it is appropriate for you to recuse yourself from the ongoing investigation and pending prosecution of Mr. Parnas,” Bondy wrote.

In addition to a recusal, Bondy said Barr should allow for the appointment of a special prosecutor “from outside of the Justice Department” to take over the caseload of Parnas’ indictment in the Southern District of New York on charges that he helped facilitate a sweeping pro-Trump campaign finance scheme that partially overlaps with matters at the heart of the president’s impeachment.

“It is in the public interest to remove this matter entirely from the Department of Justice,” Bondy wrote.

Lev Parnas’ attorney Joseph Bondy filed a motion calling for Attorney General Bill Barr’s recusal and the appointment of a special prosecutor outside @TheJusticeDept for his client’s case. pic.twitter.com/s33qczUcHf

— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) January 20, 2020

A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment.

Bondy’s letter cited the infamous July 25 phone call on which Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that he should coordinate with Barr and Giuliani about announcing an investigation of Joe Biden, one of the president’s top Democratic rivals in the 2020 race.

The Parnas attorney also cited more recent revelations about Barr’s extensive ties to Victoria Toensig and Joe DiGenova, two attorneys who worked on Giuliani’s Trump-endorsed bid to pressure Ukraine.

Parnas, who was Giuliani’s point person in Ukraine during the dirt-digging foray, turned over a cache of texts and other records to the House Intelligence Committee last week that tied Trump even closer to the Zelenskiy pressure campaign.

As part of his break with Trump, Parnas also went on MSNBC last week and implicated Barr in the push for Ukrainian investigations.

“Mr. Barr had to have known everything,” Parnas said. “Victoria, Joe, they were all best friends. Attorney General Barr was basically on the team.”