Alexander Smirnov, the former FBI informant who was promoted as GOP’s star witness, was charged with lying about a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden’s family and returned to US custody two days after being released.
Smirnov’s case is going to be continued in California
43-year-old Smirnov was initially arrested and charged in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he made an initial court appearance. However, he was re-arrested after being released under special conditions after California prosecutors, where the case was initially filed, reconsidered Smirnov’s custody status.
Immediate hearing
The lawyers for Smirnov, who holds Israeli and US citizenship, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, announced that they requested an immediate hearing regarding the re-arrest and will fight for his release. The Hill reported that Smirnov was arrested while “inside our law office,” where they were working on his defense.
The statement from the lawyers
The lawyers said in a statement, ” Mr. Smirnov was re-arrested on an arrest warrant issued from the same court where he was planning on voluntarily appearing when required.” They added that his re-arrest “contradicts the notion that he is a risk of flight.”
Re-arrested on the same charges
The warrant from Smirno’s arrest, issued by a Judge in California, shows that he was charged with the same crimes. Smirnov was charged with lying to the FBI after claiming that President Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, had received $5 million in bribes from the Ukrainian energy company Burisma.
The prosecutors’ filing
Department of Justice said, “During his custodial interview on February 14, Smirnov admitted that officials associated with Russian intelligence were involved in passing a story about Businessperson 1.” Businessperson 1 was identified as Hunter Biden. DOJ recommended his arrest over reported plans to meet “multiple foreign intelligence agencies.”
“Efforts to spread misinformation”
The indictment, issued by Special Counsel David Weiss, wrote that “foreign intelligence agencies could resettle Smirnov outside the United States if he were released.” The filing added, “Smirnov’s efforts to spread misinformation about a candidate of one of the two major parties in the United States continues.”
One of the critical questions
According to CNN, one of the vital questions remains, “If the FBI and at least two Trump-appointed US attorneys – Scott Brady in Pittsburgh and David Weiss in Delaware – knew of the FBI’s inability to corroborate Smirnov’s claims, why did it take until last summer for them to begin unraveling his alleged lies?”
Republican lawmaker spoke up
Buck, a Republican from Colorado, told Kaitlin Collins on CNN’s The Source, “This witness—and we were warned at the time that we received the document outlining this witness’s testimony—we were warned that the credibility of this statement was not known.” Sources claim that impeachment efforts would likely fail, and the number of GOP representatives who would vote against it went from 20 to 30 after Smirnov’s arrest.
Buck blasted impeachment efforts
Buck added, “Yet people, my colleagues went out and talked to the public about how this was credible and how it was damning and how it proved President Biden’s—at the time Vice President Biden’s—complicity in receiving bribes.”
Not a credible link
Buck continued, “It appears to absolutely be false and to really undercut the nature of the charges. We’ve always been looking for a link between what Hunter Biden received in terms of money and Joe Biden’s activities or Joe Biden receiving money. This clearly is not a credible link at this point.”
Enter Comer and Jordan
Buck was asked if James Comer and Jim Jordan were pushing the “Burisma narrative,” to which Buck said, “That’s what it appears.” Buck, who was a prosecutor for 25 years, told CNN, “I never went to the public until I could prove the reliability of a statement.” He added, “And even then, the only one public statement a prosecutor makes is the charging document.”
Jordan went on the offense
Talking to CNN, Jordan, an Ohio Republican, was asked about his statement, “You said the 1023 is the most corroborating piece of information you have.” Jordan fired back, “It corroborates, but it doesn’t change the fundamental facts.” That’s despite Smirnov’s admission that “officials associated with Russian intelligence were involved” in creating the Hunter Biden narrative.
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