Indicted Giuliani Associate Ties Case to Trump

One of the two indicted associates of President Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, on Wednesday tied the case to the president himself, saying that some of the evidence gathered in the investigation could be subject to executive privilege.

The unusual argument was raised by a defense lawyer in federal court in Manhattan as the two associates, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, pleaded not guilty to federal charges that they had made illegal campaign contributions to political candidates in the United States in exchange for potential influence.

Mr. Parnas and Mr. Fruman have become unexpected figures in the events at the heart of the House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry, having played a role in helping Mr. Giuliani’s efforts on behalf of President Trump to dig up information in Ukraine that could damage former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., a prospective Democratic challenger.

Mr. Giuliani has denied wrongdoing but has acknowledged that he and the two men worked with officials in Ukraine to collect damaging information about the American ambassador to Ukraine and other targets of Mr. Trump and his allies, including Mr. Biden and his younger son, Hunter.

Edward B. MacMahon Jr., a lawyer for Mr. Parnas, told the judge in the case that the potential for the White House to invoke executive privilege stemmed from the fact that Mr. Parnas had used Mr. Giuliani as his own lawyer at the same time Mr. Giuliani was working as Mr. Trump’s lawyer.

Mr. Parnas and Mr. Fruman were charged earlier this month with concealing the source of political donations in order to advance their own business interests and the political interests of Ukrainian government officials. Mr. Trump and Mr. Giuliani were not named in the indictment, although prosecutors are also investigating whether Mr. Giuliani broke lobbying laws in his dealings in Ukraine, according to people familiar with the inquiry.

Prosecutors said during the hearing on Wednesday that they have gathered a large volume of materials as part of the ongoing investigation, pursuant to more than a dozen search warrants. Mr. MacMahon asked that the government use a special team of prosecutors to review the evidence, saying Mr. Parnas’s relationship with Mr. Giuliani indicates some of the materials may be protected by attorney-client privilege or executive privilege.

“These are issues we need to be very sensitive to,” Mr. MacMahon told the judge, J. Paul Oetken of United States District Court. “I’m not telling you I know how to resolve this.”

He told reporters after Wednesday’s hearing: “I don’t know any more about how to invoke executive privilege than anyone else.”

An assistant United States attorney, Rebekah Donaleski, said during the hearing that the government was already using a “filter team” to review which materials should be privileged and shielded from prosecutors. She said prosecutors would discuss with the defense team whether there was any basis to invoke executive privilege.

“We are attuned to those concerns,” Ms. Donaleski said.

The prosecutors in the case, from the office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, along with the F.B.I. have conducted searches of email and social media accounts, electronic devices and several unidentified premises, she said. They have also subpoenaed records for more than 50 bank accounts.

Mr. Parnas and Mr. Fruman, immigrants from the former Soviet Union who became American citizens, were arrested on Oct. 9 at an airport in Washington, D.C., with one-way tickets to Frankfurt. They each face four criminal charges related to violations of campaign-finance law.

Prosecutors also have linked Mr. Parnas and Mr. Fruman to an attempt to recall the United States ambassador to Ukraine, Marie L. Yovanovitch, who had become a focus of criticism from many of Mr. Trump’s allies.

House Democrats last month opened an impeachment inquiry investigating whether her removal was connected to Mr. Trump’s attempt to gather damaging information in Ukraine about Mr. Biden, who is a leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Allegations that Mr. Trump pressured Volodymyr Zelensky, the newly elected president of Ukraine, to investigate the Bidens in exchange for a White House meeting or military aid — or both — are at the center of the impeachment inquiry.

The two other defendants in the case, David Correia and Andrey Kukushkin, have also pleaded not guilty. The charges against them are not connected to Ukraine. Prosecutors have accused the four men of participating in a separate scheme to conceal the source of hundreds of thousands of dollars in political contributions that came from overseas donors. It is illegal for foreigners to donate to political campaigns in the United States.

In that scheme, the men allegedly made illegal campaign contributions to help get licenses for recreational marijuana businesses in Nevada and other states. An unnamed Russian citizen gave $1 million to support the venture, which ultimately failed, according to the indictment.

The four defendants have all been released on bond pending a trial.