Former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov, who allegedly lied about Biden family bribes, had ties to the Russian assassination leader and obtained information at parties on mega-yachts and expensive hotels, shocking details emerge in a new court filing.
Last week, special counsel David Weiss accused him of lying about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden accepting $5 million in bribes from Ukrainian energy company Burisma.
Smirnov, 43, is accused of making a false statement and creating false records of statements he made to the FBI in 2020 related to Hunter Biden's work on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 25 years in prison.
He was released from federal custody Tuesday evening — against the Justice Department's recommendation — with certain conditions attached, including a GPS monitor and the surrender of his U.S. and Israeli passports.
Prosecutors revealed in an explosive court filing on Tuesday that Smirnov had “extensive contacts” with Russian intelligence officials and obtained information about the Biden family through luxury events on a superyacht and in hotels.
breaks down some of the most shocking allegations against the FBI informant who played a central role in Republicans' impeachment of Joe Biden.
Smirnov was in “contact” with the Russian agent responsible for assassinations around the world
Former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov (left) leaves his attorney's office in downtown Las Vegas after being released from federal custody on Tuesday, February 20
Smirnov was conditionally released from federal custody on Tuesday evening
In a shocking new filing Tuesday, prosecutors say Smirnov, an Israeli citizen, has “extensive foreign connections” and his contacts with Russian intelligence officials are “not harmless.”
The filing goes on to say that the “false information” that Smirnov passed on to the FBI from Russian intelligence officials was not “trivial” because it “targeted the presumptive nominee of one of the two major political parties.” referring to Joe Biden.
Prosecutors say his contacts were “extremely new” and that he planned to meet with an official on his upcoming trip abroad.
Specifically, Smirnov revealed that “Russian Official 1” is the son of a “former high-ranking Russian government official” who “controls two groups of individuals tasked with carrying out assassinations in a third country.”
In addition, the official was described as having “connections to a certain Russian intelligence service.”
The filing states: “Russian Official 1 offered to stop the assassination efforts in exchange for certain things, including an agreement by 'Country C' to stop targeting civilian family members of certain Russian officials living in Moscow.”
The official allegedly provided him with “concrete information” about Russia’s “military resources for a winter attack in Country C.”
They also told Smirnov about the Russian government's “war intentions in Ukraine,” the indictment says.
“Fake” secret recordings of Hunter at a hotel in Ukraine he never visited
According to the filing, Smirnov wanted his Russian contacts to check whether Businessman 1 (Hunter Biden) was registered at a hotel in Kiev, Ukraine.
The hotel, the Premier Palace, was allegedly “wired” and “under the control of the Russians,” said Smirnov.
He claimed Hunter went to the hotel “often” and “saw video footage of Businessman 1 entering the Premier Palace Hotel”.
However, investigators said they “know Smirnov's new story is false” because Hunter never traveled to Ukraine.
“Smirnov suggested that investigators should check whether Businessman 1 made phone calls from the Premier Palace Hotel, as these calls would have been recorded by the Russians.”
He claimed he received this information from “four different Russian officials.”
He also said that the Russians “want Ukraine to help influence the U.S. election” and that the tapes of Hunter at the Premier Palace Hotel are “all they have.”
The hotel, the Premier Palace, was allegedly “wired” and “under the control of the Russians,” said Smirnov
The luxurious Premier Palace Hotel in Kiev, Ukraine
Smirnov claimed Hunter went to the hotel “often” and “saw video footage of Businessman 1 entering the Premier Palace Hotel.”
Special counsel David Weiss has accused a former FBI informant of lying about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden accepting a $5 million bribe from Ukrainian energy company Burisma
Another contact led a Russian intelligence operation at a hotel club.
Another, “Russian Official 4,” apparently led an intelligence operation at a “club” located in a particular hotel, according to Smirnov.
Smirnov told his FBI handler that Russian intelligence had “intercepted cell phone calls from hotel guests.”
“Russian intelligence has intercepted several calls from prominent U.S. individuals who the Russian government could use as “kompromats” in the 2024 elections, depending on who the candidates will be,” he continued.
Smirnov attended the birthday party on a megayacht owned by the Russian steel giant
According to the filing, in 2023, he was “invited to and planned to attend the birthday party of an identified individual in the Middle East, “Country A,” which would include activities on a megayacht owned by a high-ranking member of Russia's largest steel and steel company Mining companies.'
Russian Official 1 was among those also expected to attend the birthday celebrations.
Another person, described as a “senior member of a Russian state defense company,” planned to attend the celebrations.
Smirnov was invited to and had planned to attend a birthday party on a mega-yacht belonging to a senior member of Russia's largest steel and mining company
The filing goes on to say that the “false information” Smirnov provided was not “trivial” because it “targeted the presumptive nominee of one of the two major political parties,” referring to Joe Biden
Smirnov has $6 million in cash and could use his foreign contacts to escape the United States
Federal prosecutors had argued that Smirnov should be arrested because his foreign contacts “could allow Smirnov to relocate outside the United States if released” and he had $6 million in “liquid assets” – allowing him to live comfortably.
“The effects of Smirnov's false statements and fabricated information are still felt today.” Now there is even more at stake for Smirnov personally. “His freedom is at stake,” prosecutors explain.
“If he couldn’t be trusted to report truthful information to his FBI agent, he couldn’t be trusted to report truthful information to Pretrial Services.”
The indictment against Smirnov could undermine Republican bribery allegations and allegations that Biden benefited financially from his son's business dealings in Ukraine.
In the filing Tuesday afternoon, prosecutors detailed how Smirnov “misrepresented” his assets by failing to disclose the millions he has at his disposal.
He personally has access to more than $2.9 million and his “wife/girlfriend,” who pays his personal expenses from her own account, has the opportunity to receive more than $3.8 million.
And because of his “tenuous ties” to the Las Vegas community, he could not reasonably be expected to remain in the area if released, prosecutors continued.
“Smirnov's expected trip from the United States on Friday last week, two days after his return, was, among other things, to meet with Russian intelligence officials,” prosecutors say.
But a federal judge allowed Smirnov to be released Tuesday evening after the hearing.
Smirnov did not answer reporters' questions as he left court.
Smirnov's efforts to spread “misinformation” about US candidates continue
Special Counsel David Weiss warned that the former whistleblower's efforts to “spread misinformation about a candidate of one of the two major parties in the United States” are ongoing.
He wanted the court to take this fact and his past behavior into account when “assessing his personal history and characteristics.”
“This shows that the misinformation he is spreading is not limited to 2020.”
“After meeting with Russian intelligence officials in November, he actively spread new lies that could impact the U.S. election,” prosecutors warn.
Burisma call about expanding business to US
According to court documents, Smirnov told the FBI in March 2017 that he had spoken on the phone with the owner of Burisma about the energy company's interest in acquiring a company in the United States.
In his account of the conversation, Smirnov told the FBI that someone referred to as “Businessman 1” was on the board of Burisma and was also the son of a person referred to as “Officer 1.”
Businessman 1 is reportedly Hunter Biden and Public Official 1 is likely Joe Biden himself, although they are not named in the indictment.
Prosecutors included images of business cards of “Burisma Officer 2” and officers “3 and 4,” which Smirnov allegedly sent to his superior in March and September 2017.
Prosecutors included images of business cards of “Burisma Officer 2” and officers “3 and 4,” which Smirnov allegedly sent to his superior
According to court documents, Smirnov told the FBI in March 2017 that he had spoken on the phone with the owner of Burisma about the energy company's interest in acquiring a company in the United States
Hunter Biden has been appointed to the board of Burisma Holdings
In 2020, Ukrainian authorities said they intercepted a $6 million bribery attempt to drop a criminal investigation into the head of the natural gas company Burisma, where Joe Biden's son once held a board seat
Three years later, in June 2020, the indictment accuses Smirnov of making false statements about Biden and Hunter after Biden became a presidential candidate.
At that time, Smirnov reported two meetings in 2015 and/or 2016.
It is alleged that Smirnov falsely claimed that executives linked to Burisma admitted to him during meetings that they had hired Hunter to “protect us from all sorts of problems through his father.”
He also claimed that they paid $5 million each to Biden and Hunter during Biden's term so that Hunter would “take care of all these matters through his father,” referring to a criminal investigation conducted by then-Ukrainian Prosecutor conducted general in Burisma.
According to the prosecution, the events Smirnov reported in 2020 were a fabrication.
But Republicans created Form FD-1023, putting Smirnov's allegations at the center of their case to impeach the sitting president.
House Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., sought to downplay the charges, saying the informant was just part of a complex money trail between the Bidens and foreigners that they were working to solve.
Smirnov is currently being held at a federal penitentiary in Pahrump, Nevada
The indictment against Smirnov bolsters Republican bribery allegations and claims that Biden benefited financially from his son's business dealings in Ukraine
In fact, the indictment states that Smirnov had contact with Burisma executives in 2017, after the end of the Obama-Biden administration and after the firing of the then Ukrainian prosecutor general in February 2016, when Biden “no longer had the opportunity to influence the U.S. “To influence politics” and afterwards The Ukrainian prosecutor general was fired in February 2016.
The indictment accuses Smirnov of turning his routine business contacts with Burisma in 2017 and later into bribery allegations against Biden after he expressed bias against Biden and his presidential candidacy.
When Smirnov was interviewed by the FBI in September 2023, the indictment says he repeated some of his false claims, replaced his story with other claims and “spread a new false narrative after he said he met with Russian officials.” .
Republicans in the House of Representatives had seized on the FBI document alleging a $5 million bribe as part of their investigation against the president. The prosecution undermines this key component of her case.
Following the impeachment, House Oversight Committee member Jamie Raskin, D-MD, called on House Republicans to drop their impeachment inquiry.
“In a detailed indictment, Special Counsel David Weiss — appointed by former President Donald Trump — has shown that key evidence at the heart of House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry is based on a lie,” Rankin said in a statement.
But House Republicans vowed to move forward with their investigation and said in a post