Lev Parnas’s life has been a journey through the heights and into the the shadows of power and influence around the world, coming out the other side into citizen journalism here on Substack.
He was once part of what you might call Donald Trump’s outer circle; he was a supporter, a business associate of the Trump family, an occasional guest at dinners and functions. He also got caught up in Trump’s first impeachment, which led to a criminal conviction on campaign-finance charges, and time in prison.
It was all a tragedy—for the country, first and foremost, of course. But for Parnas and his family as well—his son Aaron Parnas is the popular and influential new-media newsman, here on Substack and everywhere else. Lev Parnas seems chastened by his experiences, and he says he is now a man on a mission: To tell the world what he knows and understands about Donald Trump, and the inner circle that is now embarked on a radical remaking of our country, and of its role in the world.
We all see this happening. Lev Parnas sees—and hears—a lot more. He is still very well-sourced in Trumpworld, both on the political and the business sides. To listen to him on the events of the day is to hear some of the subtext of what is happening in our government, and in the clash of powers around the world. It’s fascinating.
So when we spoke today, Ukraine was at the top of the agenda. Lev was born in Odessa, the once-great port city on the Black Sea, and came to the U.S at the age of three. He still has a lot of friends in Ukraine, some in high places. Listen to his assessment of the endgame for the war in Ukraine that Trump and his team are mapping out—or stumbling into.
We also talked about the coming US actions against Venezuela—and Lev is blunt.
“Under the pretense of, you know, ‘We’re stopping terrorists,’ ‘We’re stopping drug runners,’ the plan is to take over those oil reserves,” he says. “That’s the major play.”
Lev Parnas understands Donald Trump, because he was once in that constantly shifting circle around him. And he has paid the price for it.
“I wake up every morning trying to basically right my wrong,” he says.
It was a great conversation. Hope you like it.
