The other day, a judge whom I greatly admire recommended that I watch a new documentary.
Talk about drawing back the curtain! That documentary, “From Russia With Lev” may be the tell-all of all time, and–assuming there are still uncommitted voters–the timing of its disclosures couldn’t be better. For those who haven’t yet seen it, don’t walk–run to your television and watch it on MSNBC.
The documentary tells the complete story behind the events that precipitated Trump’s first impeachment, and it does so from the perspective of Lev Parnas, one of the main characters in that travesty, who has clearly come to regret his participation in what can only be described as a Mafia-like enterprise.
In the process of telling the story behind Trump’s effort to blackmail the President of Ukraine, we learn a lot of things that I, for one, would rather I didn’t know.
What we learn about Trump isn’t surprising (although much of what we already did know was supplemented with data amply confirming his unfitness for any office, let alone the Presidency), but the film revealed an extent of rot in the upper echelons of the GOP that shocked me. Despite my distaste for several of the people shown to be “on the take” in one way or another, I would not have predicted the depths to which they fell, morally and legally. The documentary reinforced the mendacity of Bill Barr’s “summary” of the Special Prosecutor’s investigation of Trump’s acquiescence into widespread Russian meddling in the election; it focused, in passing, on Kevin McCarthy’s money-grubbing, and on the equally dishonorable actions of several others. And it confirmed the knowing mendacity of Fox “News.”
Most of all, the documentary displayed the pathetic, grasping, total degeneracy of Rudy Giuliani.
It would be a disservice to offer a Cliff Notes version of the film. You really, really need to see it, to understand–intellectually and viscerally–that for a period of four years, the United States was run by a gang of thuggish con men and Mafiosas who cared nothing about the security or honor of the United States and everything about personal wealth and power.
What I do want to emphasize are the reasons to believe Lev Parnas and his recitation of these events. Rachel Maddow, the executive producer, was asked that question in an interview, and her answer was convincing.
First of all, Parnas was forthcoming about his own life. He was admittedly a con man who ran around with hoodlums and wheeler-dealers, a man who knowingly and enthusiastically took part of a variety of illegal activities. It was thanks to those prior contacts that he eventually fell into a relationship that took him into the inner precincts of Trump’s White House. He forthrightly admits that being welcomed into these powerful circles went to his head. In his narratives, he doesn’t try to excuse or whitewash either his very checkered past or his role in Trump and Giuliani’s effort to withhold the weapons that Congress had authorized for Ukraine–weapons desperately needed to fight the Russian invasion– unless Zelensky announced a bogus investigation into Hunter Biden.
But even if you discount his accuracy or sincerity, Parnas provided the producer and director of the film (as well as the prosecutors who eventually sent him to prison) with extensive documentary evidence. His cellphone contained thousands of emails, texts and photographs confirming his version of events–evidence that simply could not have been manufactured, and that is not capable of being explained away. (There were also numerous photos of him with Trump, who continues to claim he never met Lev.)
Ordinarily, a film offering the bombshells that this one does would destroy a Presidential candidate. But we occupy a weird time. The MAGA cult, Christian Nationalists and racists who stubbornly support a demented criminal are not open to persuasion, and I seriously doubt that there are, at this point in the electoral cycle, any truly “uncommitted” voters. As David Sedaris has noted (his language), to be undecided between these two candidates is like having the stewardess on a plane offer you a meal choice between chicken and shit with broken glass in it–and, after a pause, to ask how the chicken was cooked.
Those of us who reside in the “reality-based community” already had ample reason to reject Donald Trump. “From Russia with Lev” makes the prospect of a Trump victory even more terrifying.
Watch it. And if you know anyone who really is trying to decide between the chicken and the shit with broken glass, make sure they see it too.
Good stuff. Thank you. I have seen NOTHING about this on ABC, CBS or NBC, and nothing on local news. That baffles and scares me.
I agree it was an excellent documentary – it can be seen o MSNBC but I believe is also available on YouTube?
I am about the same age as Trump, and his love of celebrity is well-established, so I have been reading about how he lived his life while I was living mine. He did nothing as a politician that in any way surprised me. In fact, and not surprisingly, he is a duplicate of his father.
He and Vance are apples that fell straight down from the family tree.
As Trump ages, he reminds me (mannerisms, facial expressions, deflection and blaming others, etc) so much of my late stepfather, who was such a rabid “Republican“ that he advocated for President Obama‘s death and had Fox News on 24/7. I would describe him as a Trump wannabe, he always had some get rich quick scheme going, always thought he was smarter than everyone else, but he was nothing but an old, rundown, retired factory worker who was uneducated and tried to convince everyone else that he was Mr. Gotrocks.
The man had my mother totally brainwashed to his way of thinking on every topic, but now in the four years since he passed, some of this BS is slipping away from her eyes, and as she and I discuss current events, she said the other day that she voted for Trump once, but would never do it again.
I hate to think we need to rely on death to open some of these peoples eyes, but it actually may come to that in some cases.
I’ve heard of this film and planned to watch it soon. Thanks for the review, Sheila.
I watched this as soon as it was available, and it emphatically filled in any gaps I wasn’t aware of prior to viewing it. I’d seen Lev interviewed before, but not his wife Svetlana, who came off, as did Lev, with an articulate honesty about the whole thing that was convincing and believable. Lev’s confrontation with Hunter Biden was particularly notable, and even with the knowledge that the cameras were rolling, appeared to be emotionally honest and unscripted. The whole operation, as sleazy as that was, by all those involved, with Rudy as kingpin, at that level of international diplomacy, was disgraceful and unimaginable. One key player mentioned but not appearing, was the convicted and subsequently pardoned Paul Manafort. I think all these sleazeballs, headed by trump, make the Watergate boy’s antics look like child’s play. Good on Lev for realizing just how low he had gone, ultimately serving time and now unburdening himself with the whole, documented, truth. Too bad this isn’t at least featured on Netflix, let alone every major network.
This episode of America’s history is, in part, the culminating shit show of the Republican party that has jumped down the rabbit hole of greed, power, mendacity and immorality. The modern accelerator of this leap began with the capitulation of Congress to the Wall Street-funded lobbying community. Lurking in the weeds were the Koch brothers and their insidious “investment” in fascism in the form of the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation.
The parallel threads to these “investments” included Milton Friedman’s egregious supply-side economics “theory” that fed the needed academics to the greedy corporate/banking moguls who so desperately wanted to be free of regulations. This is where the immorality enters the picture. And George H. W. Bush was complicit in this greased slide into infamy by hiring Lee Atwater, Karl Rove, et. al., to enact the “win at all costs” operating philosophy. Bush was, after all raised by parents who abused him if he didn’t win at everything from tennis to baseball. As a politician, it was all he ever thought about.
Sorry for the lengthy history lesson, but it must be understood that the depth of depravity of the Parnas/Trump/Giuliani sewer crew had precursors and ancestors. Conning the American voters wasn’t that hard, really, when the Democrats were running around like scalded cats between their own bribes and trying to appear virtuous.
And here we are trying to rid ourselves of the shitty clothes we’ve had on as we’ve wallowed through the politics of the last 5 decades. Can we clean up our act before it’s too late, or will we end up answering Ben Franklin’s veiled warning: “… a democracy, madam, if we can keep it.”
Great history lesson Vernon. Thank you.
As I searched youtube for ‘From Russia with Love’ Part One of this story also popped up. So I’ve been watching Part One that took place 4 years ago as Rachel Maddow interviews Lev Parnas. As someone who has never watched MSNBC I never saw those interviews, but I believe they are providing important context before I watch the main documentary mentioned in today’s blog.
I watched the first impeachment hearings; the information and results of that episode of Trump’s “transition” into the presidency should have been enough to convince Americans of what to expect in the future as long as Trump is still in the public eye on any level. The stalling out of his recent trial convictions, preventing sentencing and/or payoffs as ordered have now become meaningless. He remains the naked Emperor of the GOP; will the Lev documentary make a difference on November 5th and if so, which direction will a difference make.
To quote my one yard sign this election period; “For the love of God, Anyone But Trump”
I always question the motives of a slithering con man with a large ego who agrees to a tell-all after the Feds caught him. Barr and Trump had a Washington man murdered by authorities for killing a racist Nazi during a BLM and Antifa protest during Trump’s presidency, so I already knew these guys were thugs. Throw in Pompeo, who planned the assassination of Julian Assange while captive in a London embassy. There wasn’t anyone above board.
I never followed Parnas’ story because Rudy chose him. After Rudy got caught on film by Sacha Baron Cohen and his attractive star, Rudy, taking off his pants on the bed because he thought she wanted to have sex with him, I would cringe just hearing his name. It never went away.
By the way, I’ve never known a Svetlana who wasn’t intellectually honest and forthright. Also, watching Trump weasel his way around Zelenskyy today makes my stomach turn.
You’ll have to give it up for Murdoch and his amazing propaganda skills to convince 33% of Americans that these guys are National Heroes! The meme with Trump flying down from Heaven with his white wings is a masterpiece shared by these ignorant dolts. Save a copy in your photo file because they’ll be valuable art some day. LOL
Thanks, Sheila, for writing a great review of Rachel Maddow’s revealing documentary. I have been only watching MSNBC for about 12 years now as my TV source of news and, while I know they are definitely liberal leaning, I know I can trust them to report the actual events. Their commentary of the day’s events is thoughtful and they have excellent experts give in-depth analysis. I found the documentary to be fascinating and very (cringingly) humorous, watching a bunch of sleaze-balls old Lev called pals! And his wife is a gem with the best line in the whole film (paraphrasing): They thought is was “Mission Impossible”. More like Mission Stupid! LOL!!
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I think it’s worth noting that no major media outlet has yet editorially demanded that Trump withdraws his candidacy, like they did with Biden. Notably, the NY Times still insists that Kamala Harris needs to show that she’s capable of doing the job, never mind the horrific vision of another 4 (or more?) years of you know who.
One side note:
If Braun is elected Indiana’s governor, he will use the “Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute” and “HOPE, Inc.” as the organizational brains behind his policies. Several Hoosier journalists, including one from Indiana Capital Chronicles, attribute these organizations as references but need one word about who funds them or who is behind them. I’ve researched, and all I find is that the redacted Form 990s prevent us from obtaining the funders. I’ve emailed both Hoosier journalists to see if they know, but haven’t heard a word in return.
If any readers know who is behind these organizations, please email me at todd@middletownmedia.com so I can complete my article. Thanks!
How does one go about finding this? I searched NBC/MSNBC and Youtube streaming apps and found only trailers, short clips, interviews promoting it, etc.
I watched it on the second night. It is informative and funny. It’s definitely worth the price of admission. I didn’t see anything that surprised me. The only way to explain McCarthy is grift. He first got his dream job, which he didn’t do well, then he quit and is currently an empty suit on FAUX NEWS.
Felix — see if this link will work:
https://www.nbc.com/from-russia-with-lev
Thanks, Linda.
I’m watching now, but I’m getting tired of the commercials. Please, no commercials in a documentary.
I think I’ll be watching the new
documentary, Vindicating Trump, and the new Reagan movie….. Anything associated with Mad-cow, I’ll pass
Felix – same here. I’ve given up after creating an NBC profile and still couldn’t access the documentary.
Paying a subscription fee just to watch one documentary isn’t going to happen.
All the information in this documentary, and yet, trump isn’t in prison, is running again, and tied in the polls! How. Is. This. Possible?!
Since Trump has many business dealing in New Jersey, he definitely know how the Mafia and Syndicate worked.
Thanks for sharing the story of Lev Parnes. I watched the documentary multiple times that weekend so I could absorb all of the information. I didn’t see the original interviews that Maddow had done with him and his attorney so, most of the show was news to me. I truly wished the Netflix would show it and Apple TV which would expand its audience. It’s on You Tube and you just need to pick the full version that is 90 minutes long. If you have a gmail account, you’ll need to log in to view it. Unfortunately, You Tube has changed its settings so now you need to log in to view videos.