Poli Alert Political & Civics
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Jimmy Williams
Alexander Smirnov, a former FBI informant, has been indicted on two counts for allegedly supplying the FBI with false information about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden during the 2020 presidential campaign.
The indictment alleges that Smirnov, who had been a confidential human source for the FBI since 2010, provided misleading information about the Bidens after Joe Biden announced his presidential candidacy in 2020.
Smirnov, 43, was arrested in Las Vegas upon returning from overseas. The indictment, spanning 37 pages, accuses him of making false statements to a government agent and falsifying records in a federal investigation. The charges stem from Smirnov’s alleged false claims to the FBI about officials from Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company where Hunter Biden worked.
According to the indictment, Smirnov falsely told the FBI that Burisma officials admitted hiring Hunter Biden for protection and paid both Hunter and Joe Biden $5 million. These allegations were reportedly fabricated in June 2020, with Smirnov transforming routine business contacts with Burisma in 2017 into bribery allegations against Joe Biden. The indictment asserts that these claims were false, as they misrepresented the timeline of events.
Hunter Biden’s attorney responded to the indictment, emphasizing that Republicans had been warned about constructing conspiracy theories based on unreliable information.
“This is just another instance of Chairman [James] Comer and [Rep. Jim] Jordan peddling falsehoods based on dishonest, uncredible allegations and witnesses,” Abbe Lowell, Hunter Biden’s attorney, continued in the statement.
Smirnov’s accounts were crucial to Republicans’ impeachment inquiries into Joe Biden. The indictment contends that Smirnov’s claims, made in June 2020, were fabrications, and he only had contacts with Burisma executives in 2017 when Joe Biden had left office and had no influence on U.S. policy.
“In short, the Defendant transformed his routine and unextraordinary business contacts with Burisma in 2017 and later into bribery allegations against [Joe Biden], the presumptive nominee of one of the two major political parties for President, after expressing bias against [Joe Biden] and his candidacy,” the indictment alleges.
House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin called for an end to the impeachment inquiry following Smirnov’s indictment. The indictment reveals that Smirnov, despite repeated warnings from the FBI, continued to provide false information even after interviews with FBI special agents.
A judge has ordered Smirnov to be detained pending a detention hearing scheduled for next Tuesday in Las Vegas. The case adds a new dimension to the ongoing scrutiny surrounding the Bidens and the political implications of informant reliability.
