The Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged Alexander Smirnov, an FBI informant who previously provided information regarding an alleged bribery scheme between a Ukrainian energy company, Hunter Biden and President Joe Biden.
On Thursday, a DOJ press release noted that Special Counsel David Weiss indicted the FBI informant, who was used by the agency as a confidential human source regarding the alleged bribery scheme between Burisma and the Biden family, for “making a false statement” and “creating a false and fictitious record.”
In 2020, Smirnov told the FBI of an alleged corruption scheme between Hunter Biden, Joe Biden, and the Ukrainian energy firm, claiming that Burisma executives had admitted to paying the Biden family millions of dollars to protect the company’s interests and ensure that the former Ukrainian Prosecutor General was fired by using Joe Biden’s political power as vice president during President Barack Obama’s administration.
According to the DOJ, the indictment against Smirnov notes that the FBI informant’s testimony in June of 2020 contained “fabrications.” While Smirnov claimed he had met with Burisma executives in 2015 and 2016, the DOJ revealed that the FBI informant did not meet with Burisma executives until 2017, which was after Joe Biden’s term as vice president had concluded and after the firing of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General.
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“The indictment alleges that [Smirnov] transformed his routine and unextraordinary business contacts with Burisma in 2017 and later into bribery allegations against [President Biden] after expressing bias against [Biden] and his presidential candidacy,” the DOJ stated.
According to the DOJ, Smirnov changed some of his previous claims, repeated “false claims,” and “promoted a new false narrative” during an interview with FBI agents in September. The DOJ’s press release noted that Smirnov could face up to 25 years in prison if he is convicted.
In light of the recent indictment, House Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer told The Daily Caller that the FBI’s actions regarding Smirnov’s allegations “are very concerning.” Comer added, “The FBI had this form for years and it appears they did nothing to verify the troubling claims contained within the record until Congress became aware of and demanded access to them.”
A spokesperson for Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) also criticized the FBI’s trust in Smirnov in a statement to The Daily Caller.
“After withholding information from Congress and the American people, and hiding behind the guise of protecting ‘sources and methods,’ the Department of Justice has now exposed their own source,” the spokesperson said. “Accordingly, this indictment isn’t enough – the public has a right to see all the underlying evidence supporting the Biden Justice Department’s case. The Biden administration must show its work.”
