BANGALORE, INDIA ¨C A lawyer for Lev Parnas, an associate of U.S. President Donald Trump¡¯s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, who has been charged with campaign finance violations, has requested to be withdrawn as counsel because of Parnas¡¯ inability to pay both his lawyers, according to a filing made on Christmas Eve.
¡°Since I entered my appearance, Mr. Parnas¡¯ apparent ability to fund his defense has diminished,¡± attorney Edward MacMahon Jr. said in a Tuesday filing with the federal court in Manhattan.
¡°It thus would constitute a significant hardship for Mr. Parnas to continue being represented by two attorneys in this matter,¡± MacMahon said, adding that Parnas had agreed to his request to withdraw.
New York-based criminal defense attorney Joseph Bondy, Parnas¡¯ other lawyer, will continue to represent him, according to the filing.
Parnas, a Ukraine-born U.S. citizen, has been charged alongside another Florida businessman, Belarus-born Igor Fruman, with illegally funneling money to a pro-Trump election committee and other politicians. Both men have pleaded not guilty.
Giuliani has said that Parnas and Fruman assisted him in investigating Trump¡¯s Democratic political rival, Joe Biden, and Biden¡¯s son, Hunter, who served on the board of a Ukrainian energy company.
The decision for MacMahon¡¯s withdrawal was made in the best interests of both Parnas and MacMahon, Bondy said in a tweet .
¡°The legal strategy has not changed, and Mr. Parnas remains firmly committed to providing his evidence and testimony to Congress,¡± Bondy said.
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