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Special Counsel David Weiss has accused a former FBI informant of lying about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden's involvement in transactions with Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings, leading Republicans to Key aspects of the presidential impeachment inquiry were undermined.
Alexander Smirnov, 43, is charged with lying to the FBI and creating false records. He was arrested Thursday at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas after arriving in the United States from overseas and is scheduled to make his first appearance in federal court Thursday afternoon.
CNN is investigating whether Smirnov has a lawyer.
The indictment alleges that Mr. Smirnov's story to the FBI was “a fabrication, a combination of actual and otherwise discreet business meetings and contacts that were intended to provide information about the defendant's services and products.” “It was not to advertise to Burisma, but to advertise the defendant's services and products.” for discussing bribes to [Joe Biden] While he was in office. ”
Congressional Republicans have been defending Mr. Smirnov's now-discredited claims for about a year, though they have not named him. They fought with the FBI to obtain notes on what Smirnov told investigators and released the material over the FBI's objections. Congressional Republicans have repeatedly praised Mr. Smirnov as “trustworthy” and pressed his unsubstantiated claims to the fore in the president's impeachment inquiry.
In announcing the impeachment inquiry, then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said, “A trusted FBI informant alleges that the Biden family was bribed.” The FBI is currently using portions of the same memo that Congressional Republicans released as part of their indictment against Smirnov.
“Republicans are building a conspiracy about Hunter and his family not on facts but on lies told by politically motivated people,” Hunter Biden's attorney Abby Lowell said in a statement to CNN. “We have been warning this for months.”
“We were right and the air has let the air out of their balloon. This is just another example of Chairman Comer and Chairman Jordan spreading falsehoods based on dishonest and unreliable allegations and testimony. No,” he added.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said in a statement to CNN on Thursday that the investigation into the president was carried out by Smirnov and other Republican lawmakers on the FD-1023, a device used to commemorate information collected by the FBI from confidential sources. He said that the development does not center on the assertion of Quoted.
“To be clear, the impeachment inquiry does not rely on the FBI's FD-1023. It is based on a large body of evidence, including bank records and witness testimony, that suggests Joe Biden knew about his family's business dealings. The Kentucky Republican said:
He said the FBI had previously defended Smirnov's credibility.
“When asked by the committee about its confidence in the confidential source, the FBI told the committee that the confidential source was reliable, had worked with the FBI for more than 10 years, and had received a six-figure compensation. “I answered,” Comer added.
According to court records, Smirnov told FBI agents that he had discussed Burisma's efforts to acquire a U.S. company with Burisma's owners.
According to the indictment, Smirnov stated as part of his report to the FBI that a person he referred to as “Businessman 1” was a director of Burisma and was also the son of a person referred to as “Public Official 1.” The indictment does not identify these individuals, but sources identified “Public Official 1” as Joe Biden and “Businessman 1” as Hunter Biden.
During Joe Biden's presidential campaign, Mr. Smirnov allegedly submitted reports to the FBI about two meetings with Burisma executives in 2015 and 2016, during which the executives referred to Hunter Biden as “ “I hired him to protect us from all kinds of problems through my father.” Smirnov also said that while Joe Biden was vice president, executives allegedly paid $5 million each to Joe Biden and Hunter Biden so that Hunter would “address all these issues through his father.” He is also said to have reported that he had done so, referring to a criminal investigation being conducted by the Ukrainian prosecutor at the time. Common to Burisma.
“In fact, the defendant had contacts with Burisma executives in 2017, after the end of the Obama-Biden administration and after the dismissal of Ukraine's then prosecutor general in February 2016. [Joe Biden] “When his office as attorney general ceased to exist, he had no ability to influence U.S. policy,” the indictment states.
“In short, the defendants' routine and non-routine business contacts with Burisma in 2017 subsequently turned into charges of bribery against Burisma,” it continued. [Joe Biden]the presumed presidential candidate of one of the two major political parties after expressing bias against [Joe Biden] And about his candidacy. ”
This story has been updated with additional details.
CNN's Annie Grayer contributed to this report.
