His information passed to the FBI about Joe and Hunter Biden had been used by Republicans in Congress to support their impeachment inquiry against the US president. But Alexander Smirnov, 43, a former American-Israeli federal police informer, admitted to having received information from officials “associated with Russian intelligence”, revealed Tuesday, February 20, American special prosecutor David C. Weiss in a court document filed in Nevada court.
The former informant was arrested last Thursday in Las Vegas and charged the next day with lying and fabricating corruption allegations regarding Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. According to his information, transmitted to the FBI in June 2020, they would have received bribes to the tune of five million dollars from the Ukrainian gas company Burisma, of which Hunter Biden was then a member of the board of directors, to allow the company to escape prosecution.
“Lies” and an impact on the next elections
Alexander Smirnov “claimed that Burisma executives, in two meetings in 2015 and/or 2016, during the Obama-Biden administration, told him they were paying ‘the businessman’ to “protect us , through his father, of all kinds of problems”, according to the court document. Allegations described as “lies” by the prosecutors in charge of the case who recall that Smirnov was not in contact with the leaders of Burisma that in 2017, after Joe Biden left office.
But according to prosecutor David Weiss and other magistrates, “the misinformation that (Mr. Smirnov) is spreading is not limited to 2020. He is actively peddling new lies that could have an impact on the American elections (of 2024), after a meeting with Russian intelligence officials in November.” Prosecutors add in this court document that “during his interrogation in custody on February 14, Smirnov admitted that officials associated with Russian intelligence were involved in spreading a story” about Hunter Biden.
A setback for the Republicans
The indictment of Alexander Smirnov weakens the impeachment investigation led by Republicans in Congress against Joe Biden, of which these allegations were a central element. According to New York TimesRepublicans “pressured the FBI to release internal reports after learning of Mr. Smirnov’s claims” in May and July 2023, even though the FBI concluded, in 2020, that Smirnov’s claims the indicator did not merit further investigation, underlines the court document.
If convicted, Alexander Smirnov faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. Hunter Biden, for his part, remains subject to legal proceedings for tax evasion and illegal possession of a firearm.