Davis authors op-ed rebutting falsehoods that Firtash had any communication with Giuliani or anyone else to help Trump dig up dirt on President Biden
WASHINGTON, Sept. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Lanny J. Davis, attorney for Ukrainian businessman Dmytro Firtash, today asked U.S. President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to separate myths from facts about this client, Mr. Firtash. The presidents are meeting today in the White House, and Davis pointed them both to a lengthy piece he authored and posted this morning in RealClearDefense, a prominent defense policy, national security, and foreign affairs media outlet. Davis's piece, which can be found here, sets out and rebuts specific examples of falsehoods about Mr. Firtash that have been widely published in U.S. and European media.
Davis, a Washington D.C. attorney and litigator for over 40 years, is joined in the defense of Mr. Firtash by famous former U.S. Attorney Dan Webb, chairman of the law firm of Winston & Strawn.
According to the piece, in 2013, over 8 years ago, Chicago federal prosecutors announced an indictment of Mr. Firtash of a "scheme" to bribe Indian officials – but they never alleged that Mr. Firtash ever paid any bribes. Yet U.S. and European media repeatedly and falsely publish that Mr. Firtash is charged with "bribery" – despite the clear language of the indictment. Moreover, no Indian authority, after reportedly investigating the allegations, ever charged any Indian official or Mr. Firtash with being part of such a "scheme."
Davis's piece directly rebutted the widely-published assertions that Firtash communicated with either former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani or his associates to assist them and former President Trump in their efforts to "dig up dirt on President Biden and his son."
"That never happened – ever, directly or indirectly," Davis said.
In his piece, Davis reminded President Biden and President Zelensky that among their many common positions and values they "share a record of standing up to bullying and lies by former President Donald Trump." He asked the Presidents to reject the guilt-by-association and "utterly false innuendo" that Mr. Firtash was connected to Giuliani and former President Trump.
"Dmytro Firtash is innocent," Davis said. "He did not participate in any bribery scheme, and moreover, he should not be extradited to the U.S. since the Austrian court found evidence that the extradition request demonstrated impermissible 'political motivation' under the U.S. - Austrian extradition treaty."
Davis ended his piece with a final request of Presidents Biden and Zelensky:
"Facts and truth should count in the court of public opinion…We hope [Presidents Biden and Zelensky] will resist the temptation to be influenced by repeated myths and false innuendo, no matter how many times they are repeated on Google, as surrogates for the truth."
"The dystopian era of Donald Trump's lies and 'alternative facts' should be over," Davis finished.
Davis expressed hope that once Mr. Firtash is vindicated of these baseless charges, his public positions taken in support of "an independent and strong Ukraine" – referring to a previously published op-ed – will be of use to Presidents Biden and Zelensky in helping Ukraine in the months and years ahead.
DISSEMINATED BY DAVIS, GOLDBERG & GALPER PLLC, A REGISTERED FOREIGN AGENT, ON BEHALF OF DMITRY FIRTASH. MORE INFORMATION IS ON FILE WITH THE DEPT OF JUSTICE, WASHINGTON DC.
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