Alexander Smirnov: FBI informant claims Biden’s lies are “connected to Russian intelligence”

There are high-level connections between President Joe Biden’s son Hunter and an ex-FBI informant who is suspected of lying about them, according to US prosecutors. The Department of Justice filed new documents in the case on Tuesday, outlining the accusations against 43-year-old Alexander Smirnov.

When Mr. Smirnov stated that bribes were given to the Bidens through the Ukrainian energy company Burisma, he was accused of lying. He was accused of providing the FBI with false statements last week. Republicans have been working to impeach President Biden, and Mr. Smirnov’s allegations were a part of that effort. Following his return from a trip abroad, he was taken into custody within Las Vegas, Nevada, upon Thursday, according to the justice department.

Mr. Smirnov is a dual citizen of the US and Israel. The prosecution had requested that he be detained without bond, claiming that although he has no connection to Las Vegas, he is in contact with Russian intelligence. However, the United States Magistrate Judge Daniel Albregts permitted the defendant’s release from custody on Tuesday, providing for GPS monitoring until his trial. He is prohibited from obtaining a new passport and is required to stay in Clarke County, Nevada.

Speaking to no journalists, Mr. Smirnov left the courtroom after being detained for approximately an hour at a prison in Pahrump, which is about an hour’s drive from Las Vegas. The Department of Justice claims that he told his FBI handler about his intelligence contacts, claiming he could use those contacts—which the prosecution characterized as “extensive and extremely recent”—to obtain permission to leave the country.

Additionally, according to prosecutors, Mr. Smirnov misled authorities into believing he only had $5,000 in an account with a bank and $1,500 in cash, but in fact, he had access to roughly $6 million in “liquid funds.” These allegations were made in court documents submitted on Tuesday.

“The fact that Smirnov misrepresented his assets alone should cause Smirnov to be detained because it shows that, at the first opportunity, he did not provide true and complete information to pretrial services,” according to the filing.

Mr. Smirnov attended a meeting with “a high-ranking member of a specific Russian foreign intelligence service” abroad in December 2023, according to the court document. In accordance with the justice department, Mr. Smirnov informed his FBI handler that he had discovered Russian intelligence had precluded “several” phone calls from well-known Americans at a particular hotel. There is no mention of the hotel or its address.

It is purported that Mr. Smirnov stated that the recordings that were overheard might be utilized as “kompromat,” or compromising material, in the 2024 election effort.

Special Counsel David Weiss, who has been in charge of Hunter Biden’s investigation, accused him in June 2020 of giving the FBI “false derogatory information” about the president and his son. The prosecution claims that Mr. Smirnov’s distaste for the president served as his driving force. His maximum sentence in prison, if found guilty, is 25 years.

Hunter Biden’s lawyers requested the dismissal of federal tax charges in an individual court submitting on Tuesday, claiming their client was the victim of “selective as well as vindictive prosecution” with political motivations. The documents also contend that the claims made by the prosecution regarding the younger Mr. Biden’s “lavish” or “extravagant” lifestyle were “insignificant as well as prejudicial” to the case.

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