David Weiss, special counsel in charge of the Justice Department’s criminal case against Hunter Biden, filed charges against Alexander Smirnov last week. Prosecutors say the 43-year-old American-Israeli national lied to federal investigators about the Biden family’s business dealings. These lies include that when Biden was vice president, the president and his son each sought $5 million in bribes from the Ukrainian energy company Burisma in exchange for protecting the company from surveillance by Ukrainian state authorities. It is important that the argument was included. This time, Mr. Smirnov also revealed that “Russian intelligence officials” had provided him with information.
Of course, there are reasons to be skeptical about this latest explosive charge, apparently supplying a fake bomb. The memo released Tuesday paints Smirnov as a fraudster who sells “a collection of otherwise unremarkable deals and contacts,” none of which occurred during the time period he claims. , which was evidence of corruption. He was clearly lying about his wealth, occupation, etc. Prosecutors even noted that Smirnov was “actively spreading” “new lies that could affect the U.S. election,” including a Hunter interview intercepted at a foreign hotel. There is also a suggestion that the Russian government “may use the information obtained from Mr. Biden’s phone call as a ‘kompromat.'”
Could Mr. Smirnov also be lying about Russian officials providing dirt on the president? absolutely. But that’s the point. Mr. Smirnov is either complicit in the current Kremlin conspiracy to spread disinformation about the president, an eerie echo of the 2016 election interference, or he is also opposed to it. In any case, Congressional Republicans are betting their impeachment inquiry on the words of a fabricator.
This development is a devastating blow to Republicans seeking to oust the president, given how heavily politicians plotting to oust him rely on Mr. Smirnov’s claims. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), along with House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), sent a letter to the Justice Department in May stating that “a criminal scheme at the time was involved.” demanded the release of important documents that could reveal a criminal plan. Vice President Joe Biden…involves the exchange of money for policy decisions. “This is the biggest political corruption scandal not only in my lifetime, but in the last 100 years,” said Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, when Grassley posted the form on her website, according to Fox News. told. Summer after the FBI refused to provide a copy to Congress.
“That to me is really the heart of this issue,” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said this year. “The most corroborative evidence we have…comes from this very reliable and confidential human source.” He insisted on Wednesday that the revelations about Mr. Smirnov “do not change the facts.” did.
In a sense, Mr. Jordan is right. The facts about Hunter Biden’s business dealings in no way supported efforts to remove Joe Biden from office. Mr. Smirnov’s claims had already been retracted before last week’s discrediting, including in a Republican Senate investigation, and witnesses called by Republicans to the hearings swore that the president had no role in his son’s conspiracy.
House Republicans’ impeachment calls are far from credible. It turned out that the payments made by the son to the father, believed to be Chinese businessmen trying to buy influence, were repayments. About two years after he resigned as vice president, his father loaned his son money to buy a Ford Raptor truck because he was unable to raise money due to bad credit. Similarly, the much-discussed personal check from his brother James Biden to Joe Biden obtained by Mr. Comer’s committee was a separate repayment provided when Joe Biden was neither a government official nor a candidate. It turns out that there is something.
After approving the probe in December, Republicans could abandon it before the summer, but until then private interviews with James Biden and Hunter Biden reveal previously unattainable misconduct. I have high hopes that the evidence for this will come to light. The correct answer is to give up. The Justice Department’s charges against Hunter Biden for federal tax crimes and falsifying gun purchase documents may be strong. But Congress’ attempts to punish President Biden for Hunter Biden’s poor decisions have always been weak. Now it has completely collapsed.