At House impeachment inquiry hearing, witness Lev Parnas blasts GOP 'falsehoods'

March 20 (UPI) -- During Wednesday's House impeachment inquiry hearing, Lev Parnas blasted Republican members of Congress for "doing the bidding" of Russia and pushing false allegations against President Joe Biden.

Parnas, who is a convicted former aide to Rudy Giuliani, testified during the GOP-led House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing. Parnas attended at the invitation of committee Democrats. Also attending were Tony Bobulinski and Jason Galanis, two former business partners of Hunter Biden.

Hunter Biden, whose business dealings Republicans are attempting to link to alleged corruption with his father, declined to testify.

"The American people have been lied to, by Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani and various cohorts of individuals in government and media positions," Parnas told lawmakers in his opening statement. "They created falsehoods to serve their own interests, knowing it would undermine the strength of our nation."

Parnas, who worked with Giuliani -- Trump's former attorney -- in 2018 and 2019 to find damaging information on Biden, called out former Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., as well as the "right-wing media" for spreading misinformation.

"Congressman Pete Sessions, then-Congressman Devin Nunes, Sen. Ron Johnson and many others understood they were pushing a false narrative," Parnas testified.

"The same goes for John Solomon, Sean Hannity and media personnel, particularly with Fox News, who used this narrative to manipulate the public ahead of the 2020 elections," he added. "Sadly, they are still doing this today as we approach the 2024 elections."

Solomon, a reporter, refuted Parnas' testimony Wednesday, arguing his information is thoroughly vetted.

"Many figures tried to pass inaccurate information to me over the years. Fortunately, any inaccurate or uncorroborated information any person provided me was not included in my articles because I followed the editorial process, which included vetting by lawyers and editors and detailed substantiation," Solomon wrote in a post on X.

A spokesperson for Johnson also denied the accusation, calling it a "despicable lie."

"There is nothing in Sens. Johnson and Grassley's reports on Biden family corruption that has ever proven to be untrue," Johnson's spokesperson said Wednesday after the hearing.

"Anyone who ties Sen. Johnson's legitimate and accurate oversight work to Russia is amplifying a despicable lie that Democrats spread in 2020 to discredit the senator's work and protect Joe Biden."

During the hearing, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortex, D-N.Y., questioned the point of the inquiry, as she demanded charges be named.

"At this point, the story isn't the fact that the basis of this impeachment inquiry is wrong. The story is, 'Why it is proceeding anyway?'"

The White House also slammed House Republicans for continuing the impeachment inquiry into President Biden, calling Wednesday's hearing "embarrassing."

"That hearing was embarrassing for House Republicans. A total waste of time," White House spokesperson for investigations Ian Sans said Wednesday in a statement.

"It's time to move on from this sad charade. There are real issues the American people want us to address."