New Lev Parnas Documents Suggest U.S. Ambassador Was Under Surveillance In Ukraine

Former U.S. ambassador Marie Yovanovitch's lawyer is calling for an investigation after materials released last night as part of the impeachment inquiry suggested she was under surveillance by individuals linked to President Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani.

That detail was among a trove of documents belonging to Giuliani associate Lev Parnas that were made public by the House Intelligence Committee late Tuesday. The House impeached Trump last month for abuse of office and obstruction of Congress, and lawmakers will vote today to send those two articles to the Senate, where a trial is likely to open next week.

The records provided by Parnas, who has been indicted in New York for alleged campaign finance violations, to the House add to the evidence already released documenting Giuliani's effort to get the new Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to publicly announce an investigation related to former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, who had ties to a Ukrainian energy company.

Among the documents is a hand-written note by Parnas on stationery from the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Vienna, in which he appears to list his tasks to carry out regarding Ukraine. The notes begin with an imperative: "get Zalensky [sic] to Annouce [sic] that the Biden case will Be Investigated."

But it's a string of WhatsApp messages taken from Parnas' phone that have drawn the most scrutiny. In those texts from late March 2019 between Parnas and Robert F. Hyde, a former Marine who is running for Congress as a Republican in Connecticut, the two men criticize Yovanovitch, who was still a U.S. ambassador at the time.

"Wow. Can't believe Trumo [sic] hasn't fired this bitch. I'll get right in that," Hyde said of Yovanovitch in a message to Parnas. He added, "She under heavy protection outside Kiev."

The messages also appear to indicate that Hyde may have been involved in monitoring Yovanovitch and her movements.

"They are moving her tomorrow," Hyde later wrote, quickly followed by, "The guys over they asked me what I would like to do and what is in it for them."

Saying that Yovanovitch had turned off her phone and computer, Hyde said his associates in Ukraine would give updates on the ambassador's movements. He added, "They are willing to help if we/you would like a price... Guess you can do anything in the Ukraine with money ... what I was told."

"Lol," Parnas replied.

Two days later, on March 29, Hyde wrote, "It's confirmed we have a person inside."

President Trump abruptly recalled Yovanovitch from her Ukraine post last May. He has repeatedly vilified the ambassador – and at one point he told Zelenskiy "things were going to happen to her," according to an account released by the White House.

Yovanovitch was asked about that comment as she testified in the House's impeachment hearings in November. She replied, "I saw it as a threat."

In response to the newly released Parnas documents, Yovanovitch's attorney, Lawrence S. Robbins issued a statement on her behalf: "Needless to say, the notion that American citizens and others were monitoring Ambassador Yovanovitch's movements for unknown purposes is disturbing. We trust that the appropriate authorities will conduct an investigation to determine what happened."

The House documents also include a record of a previously undisclosed letter Giuliani sent to Zelenskiy on May 10, 2019, urgently seeking a meeting after his election win. In it, Giuliani said he was reaching out as the U.S. president's personal attorney, "with his knowledge and consent."

Signed by Giuliani, the one-page letter reads in part:

"I am private counsel to President Donald J. Trump. Just to be precise, I represent him as a private citizen, not as President of the United States. This is quite common under American law because the duties and privileges of a President and a private citizen are not the same. Separate representation is usual process. [...]

"However, I have a more specific request. In my capacity as personal counsel to President Trump and with his knowledge and consent, I request a meeting with you on this upcoming Monday, May 13th or Tuesday, May 14th." The letter fell into the committee's hands because it was on Parnas' phone: he texted a copy of the letter to one of Zelenskiy's aides, in an attempt to bolster Giuliani's approach to the newly elected leader.

"Giuliani's letter makes clear that his trip, which he publicly described at the time as an effort to "meddle in an investigation," was undertaken with the knowledge and support of President Trump," House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff wrote as he released the material.

Schiff sent a flash drive containing the documents to House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler, as part of the accumulation of evidence in the impeachment inquiry. In a letter describing the materials, Schiff said he was also sending a second flash drive in a sealed envelope, adding that it includes "sensitive personal information that should be protected from public disclosure."

NPR's Ryan Lucas and Michele Kelemen contributed to this report. [Copyright 2020 NPR]