Giuliani associate’s plea in illegal campaign finance case delayed

Plans for an associate of Rudolph W. Giuliani to plead guilty in an illegal campaign contribution case are being delayed a few weeks, a court filing said Tuesday.

Igor Fruman, who assisted Giuliani in seeking damaging information about Joe Biden in Ukraine when Biden was running for president and Giuliani was serving as a personal attorney to then-President Trump, had been scheduled to change his plea Wednesday, according to a filing Monday in Manhattan federal court.

A filing Tuesday said the change-of-plea proceeding will now take place Sept. 10 at the request of Fruman’s lawyer.

Fruman was charged two years ago with making hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal campaign contributions to Republican politicians and political action committees while trying to build interest in investigating Biden’s son in Ukraine. He had pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Fruman also was charged with helping a foreign national make donations to U.S. politicians to encourage support for a fledgling marijuana distribution business in states where the drug is legal.

Fruman’s attorney, Todd Blanche, declined to comment, as did prosecutors.

Fruman and an associate, Lev Parnas, worked with Giuliani to try to convince Ukraine to open an investigation into Hunter Biden over his connection to a Ukrainian energy company.

Giuliani, a Republican, has acknowledged working extensively with the pair in connection with Ukrainian figures but said he had no knowledge of any illegal campaign contributions. Giuliani was not charged.

Federal investigators in April seized electronic devices from Giuliani as part of a long-running investigation into whether his dealings with Ukrainian officials might have required him to register as a foreign agent.

Giuliani has said he did nothing wrong and that the investigation is politically motivated.