by NoahNot everyone gets to throw a treasonous, psychopathic president under the bus. That alone makes Lev Parnas special, but, as actors in other dramas often do, Parnas asked "What's my motivation?" To me, the answer is simple. Lev Parnas found himself in a unique position with unique incriminating information about the criminal actions of people who could either at worst make him disappear, or, at best, use a lawless "Justice" Department to "lock him up" forever. He knew details no one else knew, and those in position above him would naturally fear those details coming out. In the mobster-styled world Lev Parnas travelled in, that put Lev's very existence in extreme danger. If you have serious facts surrounding serious crimes and you're the only one who does, then you're a big risk to the higher ups and the clock is ticking. Only by getting that information out there as soon as you legally can, in a very, very public way, will you even have a chance of being safe. That is what Lev Parnas has done with his full hour interview with Rachel Maddow a few days ago.
Am I scared? Yes, because I think I'm more scared of our own Justice Department than these criminals right now...they trying to scare me into not talking...The difference between why Trump is so powerful now, he wasn't as powerful in '16 or '17. He became that powerful when he got William Barr.
For sure, Lev Parnas still has to worry about revenge but that revenge would be even more obvious and suspicious if it happens now, after he spoke out than, say, his being found dead in his jail cell with a sheet around his broken neck like Jeffrey Epstein. Did Lev Parnas look at what happened to Epstein and decide not to make the same mistake of keeping silent and going to his grave with what he knew and what only he would expose? When you look at the people at the top of all of this, you have to ask that question. I have no illusions about Lev Parnas being a great guy but I do know what I would have done.