Alexander Smirnov was arrested in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
Special Counsel David Weiss has indicted a confidential source who provided the FBI with defamatory information about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden on charges of felony false statements and obstruction of business.
Weiss charged Alexander Smirnov, 43, with one count of making a false statement and creating a false and fictitious record related to statements he made to the FBI in a document known as an FBI Form 1023. was indicted.
The indictment states that Smirnov was a confidential source for the FBI and “provided false and derogatory information.” [President Biden] and [Hunter Biden] …2020 onwards [Biden] Became a presidential candidate. ”
Smirnov allegedly told FBI agents in March 2017 that he spoke on the phone with the owner of Ukrainian energy company Burisma and mentioned that Hunter Biden was a member of Burisma's board of directors at the time. Ru.
Three years later, Smirnov claimed that Burisma executives had hired Hunter Biden “to protect us from all kinds of problems through his father,” referring to two meetings in 2015 or 2016. He is said to have made false statements during the conversation. He also said that during Biden's tenure as vice president, executives paid Hunter Biden and President Biden $5 million each, and that Hunter would “address all these issues through his father.” He noted that an investigation was underway at the time. The then Prosecutor General of Ukraine joined Burisma.
In his new indictment, Weiss claims the events were fabricated. According to the indictment, Smirnov first came into contact with Burisma executives in 2017, after Biden's term as vice president ended and after Ukraine's prosecutor general had already been fired.
“The indictment alleges the following: [Smirnov] Routine and non-routine business contacts with Burisma in 2017 later turned into bribery charges against Burisma. [President Biden] after expressing prejudice against [Biden] and his presidential candidacy,” Weiss’ office said in a statement announcing the charges.
According to the indictment, Smirnov was questioned again by FBI agents in September 2023, repeating his previous false claims and telling “a new false story after stating that he had met with Russian officials.” The story was reportedly changed to promote the story.
Smirnov was arrested Wednesday at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas after arriving in the United States from overseas, the Justice Department said. He was scheduled to make his first appearance Thursday.
If convicted, he could face up to 25 years in prison.
