How a Soviet-born businessman is trying to take down a president and save his own skin.

WASHINGTON If Lev Parnas gets his way, hell march onto the Senate floor someday soon and drop incendiary impeachment testimony against President Trump on national TV.
Hes still got a lot more secrets about Trump to share, he says, even after throwing pretty much Trumps entire inner circle under the bus in a series blockbuster interviews and document dumps.
But Parnas, the Soviet-born businessman who helped Rudy Giuliani dig up dirt on Joe Biden in Ukraine before flipping hard on Trump, has a problem. He ditched his first Congressional subpoena last fall, when he was still cool with Trump. And now, hes facing serious criminal charges in New York. And Democrats are nervous about hanging their case to impeach Trump on the word of an accused felon.
So Parnas has a plan to get their attention. It involves selfies. Lots, and lots, of selfies.
Hes snapping fresh ones with newly-minted fans to help build pressure for his appearance. Meanwhile, hes carpet-bombing Trumpworld with old ones he took with Trumps inner circle that bolster his incendiary claims and show just how explosive his testimony could be.
Its a wild, provocative legal strategy thatd give most defense attorneys the cold sweats. Federal prosecutors accuse Parnas of channeling campaign donations to prominent Republicans from a Russian investor who was trying to score legal marijuana licenses, among other claims. Defendants facing serious charges like that dont typically give tell-all interviews to Rachel Maddow, like Parnas did last week, for fear their own words might later be used against them in court.
But Parnas, whos pleaded not guilty, has a lot to gain from his risky, high-profile confrontation with Trump. Testifying before Congress could help him win leniency in his criminal case, in which prosecutors have been coy about letting him become a cooperating witness.
READ: Trump says weed makes you dumb, leaked audio reveals
If he succeeds in winning entry to Congress, Parnas could potentially one day argue to his judge that he cooperated fully in a case that was much, much bigger than his own: the impeachment of an American president. And that he therefore deserves a much lighter sentence than he otherwise might get.
Parnas has already handed over a vast trove of evidence to House Democrats, whove used the text messages and photographs on Parnas iPhone to bolster their impeachment case against Trump.
Parnas claims dovetail with the impeachment case against Trump. In December, the House impeached Trump for abusing his office by pressuring Ukraine to investigate former vice president Biden. Democrats argue the caper represented an attempt by Trump to kneecap Bidens 2020 presidential campaign.
Parnas claims he personally pushed Ukrainian officials to announce an investigation of Biden on behalf of Trump and Trumps attorney, Rudy Giuliani and that multiple key members of Trumps team were all in the loop.
But before Parnas gets to deliver any such sworn testimony to Congress, hes got to score an invitation. And to get one, hes rolled out Operation Selfie.
His plan was in full effect Wednesday, when Parnas and his lawyers hit Capitol Hill, with a traveling circus of reporters, photographers and chanting supporters following along behind him.
He led them from Union Station to the Capitol building, pausing repeatedly for selfies with supporters on the street. Anti-Trump protestors banged drums and howled for Trumps removal nearby, outside the Senate impeachment trial.
The cover-up is getting bigger and bigger by the day.
I dont consider it a trial yet, Parnas said, since it lacks first-hand witnesses like himself. The cover-up is getting bigger and bigger by the day.
Parnas got special permission from the judge in his case to be there. But after flying in from his home in Florida, he wasnt able to enter the Senate Gallery. The judge didnt let him remove his GPS ankle tracker. No electronics are allowed inside. So he was refused entry.
His legal team went in without him, and Parnas watched for a part of the afternoon on a screen in a secluded room on Capitol Hill.
Theyre trying to cover it up, Parnas said of Trumps lawyers afterwards, standing on the street. Theyve got to be scared that theres a lot more thats going to come out.
Hes faced no such awkward restrictions on Twitter, however, where his lawyer has been blasting out evidence of Parnas once friendly relations with Trumps team.
Most recently, he released a 124-minute tape of Trump enjoying a relaxed and jovial dinner with Parnas and others, cheerfully discussing whether marijuana costs smokes IQ points (Trump thinks it does) and Kim Jong Uns golfing skills (which Trump said are strong). No one listening to that chummy dinner would think Trump and Parnas are total strangers.
Parnas has so many selfies with high-profile Trump aides, its ridiculous. The complete gallery amounts to a whos-who of Trumpworld, including:
And more may be coming, Parnas lawyer, Joe Bondy, said while standing outside the Capitol building on Wednesday.
Youve seen, time and time again, people in the Republican party say they dont know Lev Parnas, only for us to put out a picture, Bondy said. Weve got a lot of pictures.
Even if Democrats want to call Parnas, they might not get the chance in Trumps trial. The Senate may wrap the whole thing up this week with no witnesses at all. It remains unclear whether Mitch McConnell, the wily GOP Senate majority leader, will be able to muster the votes to close down Trumps trial by this Friday without allowing any witnesses. But thats what hes trying to do.
If that happens, House Democrats may yet call Parnas to testify in the House, afterwards. Doing so could help illustrate their point that Trumps senate trial was effectively just one big cover-up.
Such a spectacle wouldnt help convince any wavering GOP Senators to vote to convict Trump and remove him from office, a result considered essentially impossible anyway given the two-third majority required to achieve it.
But given the other accusations Parnas has made, and the astonishing access he once enjoyed in Trumps inner circle as documented in his selfie collection, its sure to be one hell of a show.
Cover: Lev Parnas, former associate of Rudy Giuliani, (L) answers questions from members of the media as his attorney Joseph Bondy listens on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol January 29, 2020 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)