Special counsel David Weiss charged a former FBI informant with lying about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden’s involvement in business dealings with Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings, undercutting a major aspect of Republicans’ impeachment inquiry into the president.
Alexander Smirnov, 43, is facing charges in connection with lying to the FBI and creating false records.
Congressional Republicans have championed Smirnov’s now-discredited allegations for roughly a year, though not by name.
They fought with the FBI to obtain memos about what Smirnov told investigators and publicly released the materials over the FBI’s objections.
The congressional Republicans repeatedly praised Smirnov as “credible” and put his uncorroborated claims front-and-center in their impeachment inquiry into the president.
While announcing the impeachment inquiry, then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said “a trusted FBI informant has alleged a bribe to the Biden family.”
The FBI is now using some of the same memos that congressional Republicans released as part of their indictment against Smirnov. »
