An associate of Rudy Giuliani who has been implicated in President Donald Trump's effort to dig up dirt on Joe Biden in Ukraine says he can't go back to the country due to "threats."
An attorney for Lev Parnas wrote Monday that he was not a flight risk, as the government argued last week.
"Mr. Parnas also cannot flee to Ukraine, where he has been the subject of threats since even prior to his arrest," attorney Joseph Bondy wrote.
The nature of the threats was not explained in Bondy's letter.
Parnas and another Giuliani associate, Igor Fruman, are accused of running a straw donor scheme that concealed the source of political donations. They allegedly carried out the plot on behalf of a Ukrainian official who wanted the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine removed. The ambassador, Marie Yovanovitch, was eventually ousted _ an episode that is at the heart of Democrats' impeachment inquiry of Trump.
Bondy will argue in a hearing Tuesday in Manhattan Federal Court that Parnas deserves looser bail restrictions. He is currently on home confinement in Florida.
The government accused Parnas of misleading authorities about the extent of his wealth. Prosecutors said he'd failed to disclose a $1 million wire from Russia, among other money.
"Parnas's close ties abroad include connections to Russian and Ukrainian nationals of nearly limitless means," Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebekah Donaleski wrote.
But Bondy said the government was inaccurately portraying transactions that involved Parnas' wife _ not Parnas himself. Parnas is eager to comply with a congressional subpoena for documents relevant to the impeachment inquiry _ another reason for him to not make a run for it, Bondy wrote.
Parnas has "vocally expressed his interest in speaking truth to Congress," Bondy wrote.
"Mr. Parnas has strong incentives to remain with his family, to continue to be cooperative with Congress, and to be actively involved in the defense of the instant case."
