TOTALLY NOT A CULT (profanity alert):

"Let me dig into that," Melber began. "What you are telling me, for my understanding is that, during that time you bought into the storyline that you thought, if there is really corruption over there, you are helping explore or uproot it, perhaps. And you are telling me that later you came to see that -- which I should know and viewers know was a widely discredited cover story to hurt the Bidens for political reasons -- that you do now see it that way and say well, actually it was all kind of Trump's political BS?"

He agreed, and began to echo some of the same points other former Trump allies have said once leaving the fold, describing it more as a kind of cult than a political campaign.

"You have to understand, I grew up in Brooklyn and I looked up to people like Giuliani and Trump and when he became president, I really believed I was cutinized, and I drink the kool-aid," Parnas admitted. "And I really believed that he was trying to do good for our country and I thought, honestly that everything I'm doing is positive for our country. But eventually, even prior to my arrest, I could see the way that Giuliani was being so aggressive with Trump officials and putting pressure on President [Volodymyr] Zelensky at the time."

"Sooner or later I started getting a feeling, but I didn't realize it until after my arrest and after I had time to re-evaluate everything that happened and understand," continued Parnas. "Today I truly believe and understand that they were using me to be able to basically win the 2020 election. Most people deep down inside -- educated, common sense individuals who might not be saying it out loud, realize it's a bunch of BS and it's not true, but they don't come out and say it because for their own personal benefits. They want to change the policy or president, or whatever the political aspect is."

He closed by admitting that based on what he saw, he firmly believes that both Giuliani and Trump "committed crimes" based on the way they pressured Zelensky and prosecutors in Ukraine. Parnas also linked Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to the scheme at one point.

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