NEW YORK _ Lev Parnas has scored tickets to the hottest show in D.C. _ the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. Now all he needs is a judge's permission to attend.
An attorney for the Rudy Giuliani crony filed a letter Tuesday asking that Judge Paul Oetken approve their last-minute request to sit in the Senate Gallery thanks to tickets from Sen. Charles Schumer's office.
"Earlier this afternoon, I received an e-mail from Amy Mannering, Director of Operations for Senator Chuck Schumer's Office, informing that my request for tickets to the trial had been granted," attorney Joseph Bondy wrote, noting that they are allowed to attend from 12:30 to 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday.
The journey won't be easy _ if they can pull it off. Parnas may have to travel from Florida to New York to have his ankle monitor removed. Then he'll travel to Washington and must return to New York to have the monitor reattached, the letter indicates.
Parnas says he helped Giuliani wage a pressure campaign on Ukraine's president to dig up dirt on Joe Biden in exchange for military aid. Parnas has said Trump "knew exactly" what they were doing.
Parnas is charged in Manhattan Federal Court with campaign finance violations that overlap with the impeachment case.
"Like many other New York constituents, Mr. Bondy reached out and asked for gallery tickets, and we said yes," Schumer spokesman Angelo Roefaro said.
