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The political landscape sees another twist as Alexander Smirnov, a former FBI informant, is charged with making false statements about an alleged bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
Smirnov, 43, is accused of lying about the Bidens accepting payments from the Ukrainian energy firm Burisma.
The Justice Department asserts that Smirnov provided false statements to the FBI, driven by his personal dislike for President Biden.
The 37-page indictment, released by Special Counsel David Weiss, outlines the accusations, stating that Smirnov offered “false derogatory information” about the president and his son in June 2020.
This information was shared after Joe Biden secured the Democratic presidential candidacy for the 2020 election and after Smirnov had expressed bias against the former vice-president.
Congressional Republicans had relied on Smirnov’s allegations in their ongoing efforts to initiate an impeachment inquiry into President Biden.
Smirnov’s claims were cited in connection with allegations of bribery to the Biden family, with Republicans pushing for the FBI to release memos on Smirnov’s assertions.
The initial allegations from Smirnov included claims that Burisma officials hired Hunter Biden to protect the company from legal issues through his father’s influence during meetings in 2015 and 2016.
However, prosecutors reveal that Smirnov had only spoken with Burisma officials in 2017, after Joe Biden was no longer vice-president and after the then-Ukrainian Prosecutor General had been fired.
The indictment states that Smirnov “transformed his routine and unextraordinary business contact with Burisma in 2017 and later into bribery allegations against [Joe Biden]” after expressing bias against the president and his candidacy.
If convicted, Alexander Smirnov could face a maximum of 25 years in prison.
The developments add a new layer to the ongoing political controversies surrounding Burisma and the Bidens, as Hunter Biden is scheduled to testify before the House Oversight Committee later this month, vehemently denying the allegations against him.
