(Scypre.com) – In a significant legal development, Alexander Smirnov, a former FBI informant, pleaded guilty on Monday to fabricating a false bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden. This scheme became a focal point of the Republican-led impeachment inquiry in Congress. Smirnov also admitted to charges of tax evasion in a separate case, where he was accused of hiding millions of dollars in income.
Smirnov, 44, entered his guilty plea in a Los Angeles federal court, where his attorney declined to comment on the case. Both prosecutors and the defense have agreed to recommend a prison sentence ranging from four to six years. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for next month.
The charges against Smirnov stem from a false claim he made to his FBI handler, alleging that executives from the Ukrainian energy company Burisma paid $5 million each to Joe and Hunter Biden around 2015. According to court documents, Smirnov began making these allegations in June 2020, while serving as an informant for the FBI for over a decade. Prosecutors noted that he had expressed political bias against Joe Biden, who was then a presidential candidate.
Despite Smirnov’s claims, evidence presented in court revealed that his interactions with Burisma were limited to routine business dealings that began in 2017, two years after the alleged payments were said to have occurred. An FBI field office investigated the allegations and recommended closing the case in August 2020, finding no evidence to support the claims. Furthermore, no evidence has surfaced to suggest that Joe Biden engaged in corrupt activities or accepted bribes, either as vice president or president.
Smirnov’s allegations, while unverified, played a significant role in Republican efforts to scrutinize the Biden family. His claims were cited in the GOP’s push for an impeachment inquiry into President Biden. Before Smirnov’s identity was publicly revealed, Republicans had called on the FBI to release unredacted documents detailing the unsubstantiated allegations. However, even Republican lawmakers admitted they could not confirm the veracity of the claims.
In a related twist, Smirnov also alleged during a September 2023 interview with investigators that Russian intelligence operatives might possess recordings of Hunter Biden. He claimed that a hotel in Kyiv, Ukraine, where Hunter supposedly stayed, was under Russian control and “wired” for surveillance. These statements, however, were contradicted by Smirnov’s own indictment, which confirmed that Hunter Biden had never traveled to Ukraine.
Prosecutors disclosed that Smirnov had contacts with individuals linked to Russian intelligence. He later admitted that officials associated with Russian intelligence were involved in disseminating the fabricated story about Hunter Biden. Smirnov’s arrest earlier this year marked a turning point in the case, as it underscored the role of disinformation in shaping political narratives.
The case against Smirnov is being handled by special counsel David Weiss, who is also prosecuting Hunter Biden on unrelated gun and tax charges. Hunter Biden was initially set to be sentenced this month after being convicted in the gun case and pleading guilty to federal tax charges. However, he received a pardon from his father, President Joe Biden, who cited political motivations as a factor in the legal proceedings. “Raw politics has infected this process and led to a miscarriage of justice,” the president stated.
Smirnov’s guilty plea brings an end to a saga that intertwined allegations of corruption, political bias, and disinformation. The case highlights the challenges posed by false narratives in the political sphere and raises questions about the impact of such claims on public trust and governance.