The Justice Department has charged a former FBI informant with making false statements about an alleged bribery scheme involving a Ukrainian company, President Joe Biden, and his son Hunter.
Alexander Smirnov, 43, is accused of lying about the Bidens accepting payments from energy firm Burisma. The charges stem from false statements Mr. Smirnov made to the FBI because he disliked President Biden.
Mr. Smirnov was arrested in Las Vegas and charged with making a false statement and creating a false and fictitious record.
Special Counsel David Weiss, who has overseen the investigation of Hunter Biden, accused Mr. Smirnov of providing “false derogatory information” to the FBI about the president and his son in June 2020. This information was provided after Mr. Biden was confirmed as the Democratic presidential candidate ahead of the 2020 election, prosecutors said.
Congressional Republicans have used Mr. Smirnov’s allegations in their impeachment inquiry into President Biden, despite acknowledging that the allegation was unverified and that there was no evidence that Joe Biden had received any payments from Ukraine.
The indictment revealed that Mr. Smirnov had only spoken with Burisma officials in 2017, after Mr. Biden was no longer vice-president, undermining his original bribery allegations against Joe Biden.
If convicted, Mr. Smirnov faces a maximum of 25 years in prison for the charges brought against him.
