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WASHINGTON — A former FBI informant whose false claims about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden were at "the heart" of the Republican impeachment inquiry against the president has now been indicted on tax charges. Alexander Smirnov, the former FBI informant charged with lying to the FBI about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, has now been indicted on 10 separate tax-related charges. The charges against Smirnov, who had been a confidential human source for the FBI since 2010, were brought by David Weiss, the special counsel on the Hunter Biden case, which resulted in convictions on gun charges in June and tax charges in September. Before Smirnov was indicted, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said his claims were "the heart" of Republicans' impeachment inquiry against the president. Prosecutors said Smirnov was "actively peddling new lies that could impact U.S. elections after meeting with Russian intelligence officials" in Nov. 2023.

Persons: WASHINGTON —, Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, Alexander Smirnov, Hunter, Smirnov “, Bentley, Smirnov, David Weiss, Jim Jordan, Biden, Prosecutors, District Judge Otis Wright Organizations: FBI, Domestic, Las, U.S, District Judge, Jan Locations: Vegas, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Ohio, Russia

☆ Alexander Smirnov told investigators he got Hunter Biden dirt from Russian intelligence officials
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Hannah Rabinowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The former FBI informant charged with lying about the Bidens’ dealings in Ukraine told investigators after his arrest that Russian intelligence officials were involved in passing information to him about Hunter Biden, prosecutors said Tuesday in a new court filing, noting that the information was false. They said he previously told the FBI that he has longstanding and extensive contacts with Russian spies, including individuals he said were high-level intelligence officers or command Russian assassins abroad. The story, prosecutors noted, matches the story Smirnov told his handler about Hunter Biden being recorded in a foreign hotel. And, prosecutors wrote, Smirnov claims to have met with Russian intelligence officials as recently as November and December 2023. “He is actively peddling new lies that could impact U.S. elections after meeting with Russian intelligence officials in November.

Persons: Hunter Biden, Prosecutors, Alexander Smirnov, ” Smirnov, David Weiss ’, Smirnov, “ Smirnov, Joe Biden’s, Smirnov’s, Weiss, “ Mr, ”, “, CNN’s Holmes Lybrand, Cheri Mossburg Organizations: CNN, FBI, Prosecutors, House Republicans, ” Prosecutors Locations: Ukraine, Russia, United States, Kyiv, Russian

☆ House Republicans seek to downplay FBI informant charges that undermine Biden impeachment inquiry
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Annie Grayer | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —House Republicans leading the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden tried to downplay the importance of an FBI informant whose claims they once championed after he was charged with fabricating foreign bribery allegations involving the president and his son. Special counsel David Weiss charged the FBI informant, Alexander Smirnov, with lying to the FBI and creating false records. The indictment is just the latest setback to House Republicans who are struggling to build momentum to impeach the president. In the wake of the charges, President Joe Biden called out the informant for lying and said Republicans should end their impeachment inquiry. In the wake of the charges, Republicans have seized on the idea that Smirnov was initially presented as a credible witness.

Persons: Joe Biden, David Weiss, Alexander Smirnov, Smirnov, Biden, Jim Jordan, Jordan, James Comer, Comer, Jason Smith, Joe Biden corruptly, Hunter, Donald Trump’s, Alejandro Mayorkas, ”, Jamie Raskin, “, Johnson, Scott Brady, Brady, ” Brady, Tony Bobulinski, ” Comer, Raskin, Hunter Biden, James, CNN’s Marshall Cohen Organizations: CNN — House Republicans, FBI, Republicans, CNN, Fox, of Homeland, House Republicans, Hunter Biden, CHS, GOP Locations: Ukraine, Ukrainian

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