It was another Trump Cult lie....as usual.
Surprise! Key Witness Reveals He Lied About Biden Corruption
Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling/Yahoo News
December 12, 2024
The ex-FBI informant who accused President Joe Biden and his son Hunter of netting millions of dollars in bribes from Ukrainian energy company Burisma has admitted that the whole story was a dud.
In a plea deal, Alexander Smirnov admitted to completely fabricating the conspiracy that became central to a Republican effort to impeach the sitting president. Smirnov agreed to plead guilty to four felony charges, which include one count of obstruction of justice and three tax evasion charges, in exchange for the end of two pending criminal cases against him, according to court documents.
In June 2020, Smirnov falsely reported to the FBI that Burisma executives had paid Biden and his son millions of dollars. The fake claim was part of a larger series of unfounded allegations that accused Biden of improperly leveraging his position as vice president (at the time) to prevent a corruption investigation into Burisma, of which Hunter sat on the board. The fraudulent tale also sparked an October surprise in the 2020 election about Hunter Biden’s laptop, which Trump allies Rudy Giuliani and Steve Bannon insisted contained evidence that Biden and a Burisma adviser had held a “meeting.” (The New York Post, which ran the original story on its front page, later said that the contents of the laptop were mixed with fake material and that most of the data could not be verified.)
Smirnov could face anywhere between two to six years behind bars for fabricating the story, though Donald Trump could potentially commute his sentence or outright pardon the conservative witness once he returns to the White House.
In February, the Justice Department revealed that Smirnov admitted to prosecutors that “officials associated with Russian intelligence were involved” in developing the Hunter Biden narrative.
In the ensuing fallout over the DOJ indictment, Smirnov told investigators he was in contact with “four different [top] Russian officials,” two of whom were the “heads of the entities they represent.”
Republicans had spent months building up the hype around Smirnov as a witness, isolating his allegation that Biden had pocketed millions of dollars from the Ukrainian company as the centerpiece of their probe. But in the end, Smirnov’s faux narrative—and its ability to capture and sway overzealous and power-hungry U.S. politicians—served as just another example of how effectively the Russian government can infiltrate and undermine U.S. elections.
“It targeted the presumptive nominee of one of the two major political parties in the United States. The effects of Smirnov’s false statements and fabricated information continue to be felt to this day,” prosecutors wrote at the beginning of the year.
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From AP News:
Former FBI informant pleads guilty to lying about $10M Biden family bribe.
A former FBI informant has pleaded guilty to fabricating claims about President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. Alexander Smirnov, who reported in 2020 that the Bidens received over $10 million in bribes from the Ukrainian energy company Burisma, admitted to lying about the allegations.
Smirnov claimed the Bidens received the money in exchange for helping to “protect” the company from legal issues. These claims became central to a Republican-led impeachment inquiry against President Biden.
As part of a plea agreement, Smirnov pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about the bribery allegations. He also pleaded guilty to evading taxes on more than $2 million in unreported income.
Smirnov now faces up to six years in prison, though prosecutors and defense attorneys will recommend a sentence of at least two years. He must also pay restitution of more than half a million dollars.
Smirnov, who had routine business contacts with Burisma in 2017, alleged the Bidens each received $5 million in bribe money after expressing bias against Joe Biden during the 2020 presidential campaign, according to the indictment.
Smirnov’s claims were included in an FBI report that was later released by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and used by Republicans in their effort to impeach Biden. There was never any public evidence to support the bribery claims.
Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling/Yahoo News
December 12, 2024
The ex-FBI informant who accused President Joe Biden and his son Hunter of netting millions of dollars in bribes from Ukrainian energy company Burisma has admitted that the whole story was a dud.
In a plea deal, Alexander Smirnov admitted to completely fabricating the conspiracy that became central to a Republican effort to impeach the sitting president. Smirnov agreed to plead guilty to four felony charges, which include one count of obstruction of justice and three tax evasion charges, in exchange for the end of two pending criminal cases against him, according to court documents.
In June 2020, Smirnov falsely reported to the FBI that Burisma executives had paid Biden and his son millions of dollars. The fake claim was part of a larger series of unfounded allegations that accused Biden of improperly leveraging his position as vice president (at the time) to prevent a corruption investigation into Burisma, of which Hunter sat on the board. The fraudulent tale also sparked an October surprise in the 2020 election about Hunter Biden’s laptop, which Trump allies Rudy Giuliani and Steve Bannon insisted contained evidence that Biden and a Burisma adviser had held a “meeting.” (The New York Post, which ran the original story on its front page, later said that the contents of the laptop were mixed with fake material and that most of the data could not be verified.)
Smirnov could face anywhere between two to six years behind bars for fabricating the story, though Donald Trump could potentially commute his sentence or outright pardon the conservative witness once he returns to the White House.
In February, the Justice Department revealed that Smirnov admitted to prosecutors that “officials associated with Russian intelligence were involved” in developing the Hunter Biden narrative.
In the ensuing fallout over the DOJ indictment, Smirnov told investigators he was in contact with “four different [top] Russian officials,” two of whom were the “heads of the entities they represent.”
Republicans had spent months building up the hype around Smirnov as a witness, isolating his allegation that Biden had pocketed millions of dollars from the Ukrainian company as the centerpiece of their probe. But in the end, Smirnov’s faux narrative—and its ability to capture and sway overzealous and power-hungry U.S. politicians—served as just another example of how effectively the Russian government can infiltrate and undermine U.S. elections.
“It targeted the presumptive nominee of one of the two major political parties in the United States. The effects of Smirnov’s false statements and fabricated information continue to be felt to this day,” prosecutors wrote at the beginning of the year.
.
From AP News:
Former FBI informant pleads guilty to lying about $10M Biden family bribe.
A former FBI informant has pleaded guilty to fabricating claims about President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. Alexander Smirnov, who reported in 2020 that the Bidens received over $10 million in bribes from the Ukrainian energy company Burisma, admitted to lying about the allegations.
Smirnov claimed the Bidens received the money in exchange for helping to “protect” the company from legal issues. These claims became central to a Republican-led impeachment inquiry against President Biden.
As part of a plea agreement, Smirnov pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about the bribery allegations. He also pleaded guilty to evading taxes on more than $2 million in unreported income.
Smirnov now faces up to six years in prison, though prosecutors and defense attorneys will recommend a sentence of at least two years. He must also pay restitution of more than half a million dollars.
Smirnov, who had routine business contacts with Burisma in 2017, alleged the Bidens each received $5 million in bribe money after expressing bias against Joe Biden during the 2020 presidential campaign, according to the indictment.
Smirnov’s claims were included in an FBI report that was later released by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and used by Republicans in their effort to impeach Biden. There was never any public evidence to support the bribery claims.
