Lev Parnas, an associate of President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, was arrested last week on campaign finance violations for his numerous illegal donations to Trump and other Republican legislative candidates.
Soon after, on the White House lawn, Trump told reporters that he never knew Parnas, but probably had a picture with him. He then threw Giuliani under the bus, saying they were probably clients of his. Parnas was instrumental in helping Giuliani set up meetings with officials in Ukraine to potentially open up an investigation into the President's political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden.
At the time of Parnas's arrest, there was one photo of Parnas with the President and one photo of him with Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr.
Now, Shelby Holliday at The Wall Street Journal gained access to Parnas's private Instagram account, which revealed pictures of Parnas with Trump, as well as others in the Trump web: Giuliani, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and the President's ex-wife Ivana Trump.
It turns out there's also a note signed by the President and First Lady Melania Trump, thanking Parnas.
The note reads:
"To: Lev ParnasThank you for your friendship and dedication to our cause. Leaders like you in Florida are the key to fulfilling our bold agenda to Make America Great Again!"
There was also a wealth of photos and videos.
Parnas's own lawyer admits that Parnas was helping represent Trump while the Mueller Investigation was still ongoing. Parnas posted a celebratory picture with Trump's legal team the day Attorney General William Barr released his summary of the report.
Trump ran on a platform of draining the swamp, but it's repeatedly been proven that Trump and his allies are only exacerbating it.
Trump continues to claim that he's done nothing unconstitutional, but considering he called the Emoluments Clause "phony" today, it's likely he's not the best person to defer to on constitutionality.
