An FBI informant is facing charges for allegedly providing false information to the agency about purported connections between Joe Biden, his son Hunter, and a Ukrainian energy company. Alexander Smirnov is accused of falsely informing FBI agents in June 2020 that executives from the Ukrainian energy company Burisma had paid $5 million each to Hunter and Joe Biden in 2015 and 2016.
According to prosecutors, Smirnov claimed that a Burisma executive had hired Hunter Biden to shield the company from potential issues through his father, Joe Biden. These allegations became a contentious issue in Congress, with Republicans demanding the release of unredacted documents while pursuing investigations into the Bidens. However, they acknowledged uncertainty about the veracity of the claims at the time.
The recent development undermines the core of congressional Republicans' corruption accusations, challenging their narrative that President Biden was financially benefiting from his son Hunter's business dealings in Ukraine.
Alexander Smirnov, aged 43, faces charges of making a false statement and creating a false and fictitious record. No attorney has been listed for him in court records.
Smirnov briefly appeared in a Las Vegas court after being charged but did not enter a plea. The judge ordered the courtroom cleared after a request from federal public defender Margaret Wightman Lambrose for a closed hearing regarding sealing court documents.
The charges were filed by special counsel David Weiss, who has separately charged Hunter Biden with firearm and tax violations. Hunter's legal team did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Prosecutors assert that Smirnov did have routine business contacts with Burisma executives in 2017, after Joe Biden had left office, rendering any potential influence on US policy impossible. They accuse Smirnov of transforming routine interactions into bribery allegations against a public official.
If convicted, Smirnov could face a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison. The House oversight committee chairman, James Comer, and Republican senator Chuck Grassley had sought the release of the FD-1023 document, claiming its significance in their investigations into the Bidens.