During the second part of his interview with MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Rachel Anne MaddowMichael Cohen: Trump hates Obama because he's everything he 'wants to be' The Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by Facebook - Trump floats 0M+ in personal spending for reelection bid Feehery: Unconventionally debunking the latest political conventional wisdom MORE, Lev Parnas — a known associate of President Trump Donald John TrumpObama calls on Senate not to fill Ginsburg's vacancy until after election Planned Parenthood: 'The fate of our rights' depends on Ginsburg replacement Progressive group to spend M in ad campaign on Supreme Court vacancy MORE's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani Rudy GiulianiGrand jury adds additional counts against Giuliani associates Lev Parnas and and Igor Fruman Juan Williams: Breaking down the debates Giuliani criticizes NYC leadership: 'They're killing this city' MORE — likened the president to a cult leader.

"I don't think Trump is like organized crime, I think he's like a cult leader," Parnas told Maddow in the taped interview.

Parnas added: "There are a lot of Republicans that would go against him. ... He wasn't as powerful in '16 and '17, he became that powerful when he got [Attorney General] William Barr Bill BarrBarr says Ginsburg 'leaves a towering legacy' Republicans call for DOJ to prosecute Netflix executives for releasing 'Cuties' Trump doesn't offer vote of confidence for FBI director MORE."

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He also admitted that both he and his family were scared of the U.S.'s justice system.

Lev Parnas to @maddow : “my wife is scared, my children”... he says that being around @realDonaldTrump is like being in the cult. — Ksenija Pavlovic McAteer (@ksenijapavlovic) January 16, 2020

The Ukrainian American played a central role in Giuliani's "shadow diplomacy" in Ukraine in 2019 and was part of the former New York mayor's efforts to have Trump recall then-U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch.

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Parnas and another Giuliani associate, Igor Fruman, were arrested late last year on alleged campaign finance violations.

In the first part of his interview with Maddow, which aired Wednesday night, Parnas said Trump "knew exactly what was going on," and that former national security adviser John Bolton John BoltonDiplomacy with China is good for America The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by The Air Line Pilots Association - Pence lauds Harris as 'experienced debater'; Trump, Biden diverge over debate prep DOJ launches probe into Bolton book for possible classified information disclosures MORE was aware of what was happening in Ukraine.

In response to Parnas saying that Vice President Pence was in the know, the vice president's chief of staff Marc Short said in a statement Wednesday: "This is very simple: Lev Parnas is under a multi-count indictment and will say anything to anybody who will listen in hopes of staying out of prison."

"It’s no surprise that only the liberal media is listening to him," he added.