Two Jewish businessmen who reportedly assisted Rudy Giuliani in his attempts to uncover wrongdoing by former vice president Joe Biden have been arrested on separate charges of violating campaign finance rules.
Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, two Ukrainian-American businessmen now based in Florida, are understood to be close friends and clients of Mr Giuliani, who currently serves as Donald Trump’s private lawyer.
The two men, who are business partners, are also strong supporters of Mr Trump, having donated hundreds of thousands of dollars both to the Republican party and to a pro-Trump campaign group.
They were arrested on Wednesday and were expected to appear in federal court in Virginia on Thursday. The charges are unconnected to their alleged activity concerning Mr Biden.
Mr Parnas reportedly played a key role in introducing Mr Giuliani to former Ukrainian prosecutor Ivor Shokin.
The Trump campaign have accused Mr Biden, the current frontrunner to face Mr Trump in next year's presidential election, of using his influence to have Mr Shokin dismissed because the prosecutor was looking into a company that employed his son Hunter Biden.
There is no evidence that the Bidens are guilty of any wrongdoing.
Last month, the US House of Representatives began the process of impeachment against Mr Trump, accusing him of soliciting foreign interference in US elections for personal and political benefit.
Mr Trump is accused of attempting to pressure Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky by threatening to withdraw military aid if he did not launch an investigation into alleged corruption by the Bidens.
Late last month both Mr Fruman and Mr Parnas reportedly received letters from three different House Committees “seeking documents” relating to the attempted Biden investigation.
Both Mr Parnas and Mr Fruman had dinner with the President last year, according to the Wall Street Journal, which broke the news of their arrest. They also reportedly met Donald Trump Jr.
In March, Mr Giuliani, along with Messrs Parnas and Fruman, attended a National Council of Young Israel dinner, at which the two businessmen were given the Chovevei Zion (Lovers of Zion) award.
The organisation subsequently said it had been unaware of any potential issues with the pair at the time they had been honoured and would review future honourees more carefully in future.
