A now-indicted associate of President Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani has used a small town in Ukraine — of which Giuliani is the honorary mayor — to gain access to political figures in the U.S., BuzzFeed News reported Saturday.
BuzzFeed reported that Igor Fruman contributed to the establishment of the town of Anatevka, Ukraine, which is named for the village in “Fiddler on the Roof” and was founded as a haven for Jewish families displaced in the country’s conflict with Russia.
{mosads} The news outlet reported that the contribution to the town as well as a contribution to an affiliate of the nonprofit National Council of Young Israel (NCYI) may have helped Fruman and Lev Parnas gain access to conservative figures. The access reportedly contributed to their effort with Giuliani’s campaign against former vice president Joe Biden.
BuzzFeed also reported that Parnas and Fruman went to Israel with NCYI and Republicans including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci.
Anatevka is linked to Giuliani’s cancelled trip to Ukraine in May, as noted Facebook post by the town’s founder Moshe Reuven Azman saying that Giuliani was invited to speak, according to the article.
Giuliani had told The New York Times before the trip’s cancellation that he had planned to speak with a Jewish group.
Giuliani’s associates Fruman and Parnas have pleaded not guilty after they were accused of funneling foreign money to Republican committees including a pro-Trump group.
They also reportedly introduced Giuliani to people connected in Ukrainian politics, although their arrests appear unrelated to Giuliani’s work in Ukraine.
This work has faced renewed scrutiny amid the impeachment inquiry into President Trump over Trump’s own dealings with Ukraine.