The Washington Post reports:

Parnas, with his Brooklyn-by-way-of-Odessa accent, has sought to fashion himself as the Joe Pesci version of John Dean — the former White House counsel who was star witness in the impeachment proceedings against President Richard Nixon — casting himself an avowedly repentant participant in a rogue operation.

Some of his most explosive claims that Trump, Vice President Pence and Attorney General William P. Barr knew of his activities remain unsubstantiated and disputed. The president’s allies say his assertions are not credible, noting the serious criminal charges he faces.

“These allegations are being made by a man who is currently out on bail for federal crimes and is desperate to reduce his exposure to prison,” White House press secretary Stephanie ­Grisham said this past week.

Still, the blizzard of new details in the documents Parnas had turned over raised a host of questions about Trump’s efforts in Ukraine — ratcheting up the pressure on Senate Republicans to allow witnesses to be called during the coming trial.

In his choreographed transformation from a selfie-snapping Trump devotee to a self-described truth-teller embraced by many on the left, Parnas has blazed a path similar to that of Michael Cohen, the longtime Trump fixer who last year turned on the president in the face of criminal charges.

As a legal strategy, it’s risky, experts agreed: Parnas has been indicted in New York for allegedly funneling foreign money into U.S. political campaigns. (He has pleaded not guilty). Prosecutors have said in court that they are considering bringing additional criminal counts against him, a perilous situation that defense attorneys generally advise requires extreme caution — and silence.

Parnas’s attorney, Joseph A. Bondy, has been agitating for weeks for Congress to call Parnas as a witness, an effort largely viewed as a bid to get House Democrats to extend him immunity. But then his client spoke out without any such protection. [Continue reading…]