John Dowd, President Trump’s attorney during the Robert Mueller Russia investigation, has reentered the legal fray, this time representing two South Florida businessmen who have helped Rudy Giuliani investigate Ukraine and Joe Biden.
Mr. Dowd on Thursday sent a letter to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence declaring he is counsel for Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman. Mr. Dowd accused the committee, led by Rep. Adam Schiff, California Democrat, of harassing his clients.
Mr. Parnas and Fruman are Russian-born Republican Party donors who helped Mr. Giuliani make contacts with a number of Ukraine officials.
House Democrats are investigating Mr. Giuliani’s moves as part of their impeachment inquiry.
As Mr. Trump’s attorney during the Mueller probe, Mr. Giuliani began investigating a counter-narrative — that the government in Kyiv colluded with Democrats and the Hillary Clinton campaign to provide dirt on candidate Trump.
That probe led Mr. Giuliani to begin leveling charges against former vice president Joe Biden, a possible Trump opponent. Mr. Giuliani accused Mr. Biden of corruption in his son, Hunter, landing of a lucrative board seat on a Ukraine national gas firm owned by a corrupt oligarch.
And, it came up in Mr. Trump’s July 25 phone call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. A White House transcript of that call triggered the impeachment inquiry.
Mr. Dowd told committee investigative counsel Nicolas A. Mitchell that his fast-track probe leaves no time to adequately prepare a defense by a Monday deadline.
“Your request for documents and communications is overly broad and unduly burdensome,” Mr. Down wrote in a letter obtained by The Washington Times. “The subject matter of your requests is well beyond the scope of your inquiry. This, in combination with requiring immediate responses, leads me to the inescapable conclusion that the Democratic Committee members’ intent is to harass, intimidate and embarrass my clients.”
Mr. Dowd said that in addition to working with Mr. Giuliani, Mr. Parnas and Fruman have aided prominent husband-wife legal team Joseph DiGenova and Victoria Toensing “in their law practice.”
“Thus, certain information you seek in your September 30, 2019, letter is protected by the attorney-client , attorney work product and other privileges,” Mr. Dowd said. “Given the breadth and detail of your request for information, an appropriate privilege review cannot reasonably be conducted by October 7, 2019, the date you have set to produce documents and communications.”
A letter from three House committees to Mr. Parnas and Fruman said:
“The Committees are investigating the extent to which President Trump jeopardized national security by pressing Ukraine to interfere with our 2020 election and by withholding security assistance provided by Congress to help Ukraine counter Russian aggression , as well as any efforts to cover up these matters.”
• Rowan Scarborough can be reached at rscarborough@washingtontimes.com.
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