Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) sparred with host Chuck Todd Charles (Chuck) David ToddSunday shows - Trump team defends coronavirus response Strzok: 'I continue to believe that Donald Trump is compromised by the Russians' GOP chair defends Trump messaging on masks: 'To say that he should have known then what we know now isn't really fair' MORE on NBC's "Meet the Press" about whether Lev Parnas should testify in the Senate impeachment trial.

Todd asked Perdue why Parnas, an 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 attorney 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, should not testify “under oath” in the upper chamber.

Perdue responded that any Parnas testimony would be “secondhand information.”

“This is a distraction,” Perdue said. “This a person that’s been indicted. Right now, he's out on bail. He’s been meeting with the House [Intelligence] Committee. If the House felt like this information was pertinent, I would think they would have included him.”

“How is it secondhand?” Todd asked. “He was in Ukraine. He was doing the bidding,” adding that Parnas seems to hold “material evidence that might be helpful in connecting some dots.”

WATCH: @ChuckTodd asks @SenDavidPerdue why the Senate shouldn’t hear from Lev Parnas “under oath?” #MTP #IfItSunday



Perdue: “Again, second hand information. This is a distraction.”



Chuck Todd: “How is it second hand? He was in Ukraine. He was doing the bidding.” pic.twitter.com/qir3A1gRnK — Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) January 19, 2020

"Well, that’s the deal he’s trying to make to get his sentence reduced," Perdue said. "I'm not sure he does at all personally."

The Georgia senator also denied that Parnas was close to the president, citing Trump’s claims that he didn’t know Parnas. When Todd asked about Giuliani bringing Parnas closer to the president, Perdue said Trump’s personal lawyer was “trying to get access to the government of the Ukraine.”

“And that was one way to do it,” he said.

Parnas made a slew of new accusations against Trump and his administration in an 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 on Wednesday, saying the president knew about Giuliani’s pressure campaign to get Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden Joe BidenSenate Republicans face tough decision on replacing Ginsburg What Senate Republicans have said about election-year Supreme Court vacancies Biden says Ginsburg successor should be picked by candidate who wins on Nov. 3 MORE.

Parnas’s interview came after evidence he supplied to the House was released, revealing his communications with Giuliani.

The House impeachment inquiry began after a whistleblower report detailed Trump asking the Ukrainian president to investigate Biden in a July phone call, days after U.S. military aid was withheld from the country. The Senate trial is set to begin this week after the House sent two articles of impeachment to the upper chamber.