In the messages to Lev Parnas, Hyde claimed to be in contact with a “private security” team near the embassy in Kyiv and suggested that he had the ambassador under physical and electronic surveillance. Hyde suggested in a television interview on Wednesday that he was joking in his WhatsApp messages to Parnas. Hyde was also accused of violating the restraining order last year in the Boston area, according to Malden District Court records and the prosecutor’s office. ADADKelsey Penna, the attorney listed as representing Hyde in Washington, said Hyde was no longer a client. Since Trump’s victory, Hyde has donated about $55,000 to the president’s inaugural campaign and to the Republican National Committee, records show.

Source: Washington Post January 16, 2020 04:26 UTC