The Lev Tapes

The impeachment investigation into demagogue and Russian asset Donald "Tovarich" Trump's Ukrainian arms-for-political dirt shakedown scheme may have a new trove of interesting material. Lev Parnas, one of the Soviet-born button men retained by corrupt wingnut Rudy "Rudy Colludey" Giuliani, has turned over audio and video recordings to the House Intelligence Committee which may assist in further explaining the Trump-Giuliani escapade. According to Parnas' lawyer Joseph Bondy, the recordings include Trump and Giuliani, but he provided no further details.

Parnas was arrested several weeks ago as he and his associate Igor Fruman, who reportedly has ties to the Russian mafia, were about to board a flight to Vienna with one-way tickets, and charged with criminal campaign finance violations. Fruman is refusing to cooperate with authorities. Giuliani is under criminal investigation by the Southern District of New York for campaign finance violations and failure to register as a foreign agent, and refuses to cooperate with authorities.

Whether the recordings represent strong evidence of conspiracy on the part of Trump and Giuliani to defraud the U.S. remains to be seen. Sadly, strong evidence won't budge the Rethug cult's position that Trump must be protected at all costs.