Special counsel David Weiss has charged Alexander Smirnov, a former FBI informant, with lying about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden’s involvement in business dealings with Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings. This development undercuts a major aspect of Republicans’ impeachment inquiry into the president.
Smirnov, 43, faces charges related to lying to the FBI and creating false records. He was arrested at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas after arriving in the US from overseas and will appear in federal court Thursday afternoon.
The indictment alleges that Smirnov fabricated a story to the FBI about business meetings and contacts related to Burisma, misrepresenting them as discussions about bribes to Joe Biden when he was in office. The indictment suggests that Smirnov’s actual purpose was to pitch Burisma on his services and products, not to discuss bribes.
FBI Informant (Credits: Philadelphia Inquirer)
Congressional Republicans had previously championed Smirnov’s now-discredited allegations for about a year. They fought to obtain memos about what Smirnov told investigators and publicly released these materials. The FBI is now using some of these memos in their case against Smirnov.
Abbe Lowell, Hunter Biden’s lawyer, stated that the indictment confirms their long-standing assertion that Republicans built their case on lies. Lowell accused Chairmen Comer and Jordan of peddling falsehoods based on dishonest, uncredible allegations and witnesses.
House Oversight Chair James Comer clarified that his impeachment inquiry into the president is not reliant on the FBI’s FD-1023 form or Smirnov’s claims. He stated that the inquiry is based on a large record of evidence, including bank records and witness testimony.
GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who released the 1023 form last year, expressed dissatisfaction with the indictment, stating that the public has a right to see all evidence supporting the Biden Justice Department’s case.
According to court records, Smirnov told an FBI agent about his conversations with Burisma executives regarding the company’s efforts to buy a company in the United States. Smirnov also reported that Hunter Biden was hired by Burisma to protect them from issues through his father, Joe Biden.
The indictment asserts that Smirnov’s claims are false, as he had contact with Burisma executives in 2017, after Joe Biden’s tenure as vice president and after the Ukrainian prosecutor general had been fired.
The indictment suggests that Smirnov transformed routine business contacts with Burisma into bribery allegations against Joe Biden, expressing bias against Biden and his candidacy.
