Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) is scrambling to distance himself from indicted Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas, who aided Giuliani and President Donald Trump in their scheme to bribe Ukraine into digging up dirt on former Vice-President Joe Biden. On Thursday, Morning Joe called him out.

Parnas and Igor Fruman were both arrested and indicted in October and charged with planning to direct funds from a foreign government “to U.S. politicians while trying to influence U.S.-Ukraine relations”. Last month, as Nunes led the Republican smear campaign against the impeachment inquiry in the House in his position as ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, Parnas offered to testify against Nunes regarding the congressman’s role in the Ukraine scandal.

Nunes allegedly sought dirt on Biden from Ukraine, meaning he really should have recused himself from the impeachment hearings considering he is involved in the crimes.

And now there are phone records showing extensive contact between Nunes and Parnas. Of course, the Trump-Republican is feigning ignorance and denying he ever talked to Parnas.

Again, the multitude of evidence tells a completely different story, which is why the Morning Joe panel called Nunes out for lying even though records show he is deeply involved in the scandal.

“If I’m talking to a Ukrainian, right, and he’s in the middle of this ‘drug deal,’ and the second he gets indicted, I’m looking at the paper and I start sweating,” host Joe Scarborough said before co-host Willie Geist chimed in.

“So Lev’s attorney — I’m calling him Lev — Mr. Parnas,” Geist began. “His attorney previously had said not only did Devin Nunes and (his) client Lev Parnas speak in April a number of times on the phone, let’s just say they weren’t talking about sushi joints to find in Kyiv.”

“So for Devin Nunes to pretend he didn’t remember, remember he said, ‘I don’t remember that name, I don’t remember the calls, we’re looking into it,” Geist continued. “The fact that he was the ranking member sitting there as all this testimony was coming across his desk in front of the public, pretending he didn’t know anything but had been on the phone with some of the key players in this, it’s outrageous that he was sitting there and more outrageous that he’s pretending now he didn’t know about it.”

Indeed, in response to Nunes’ feigned ignorance, Lev Parnas’ attorney fired back at him on Twitter.

Before moving on, Scarborough got in one last burn.

“What a scam artist,” he said. “Here’s a guy who also gets in from — claims he has information he’s going to take to the White House, he goes to the White House, he gets information from the White House and he goes out and holds a press conference. Again, it’s just deceit year after year.”

Here’s the video via YouTube:

Nunes had to recuse himself from the House Intelligence Committee’s Russia investigation after he went to the White House in the dead of night to inform Trump about the investigation and receive talking points, clearly in an effort to help Trump undermine the probe.

An ethics complaint has been filed against Nunes for his latest scheme to help Trump and he could face criminal charges.

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