An FBI informant faces charges for allegedly disseminating false allegations about President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, as the 2020 presidential race unfolded.
The individual, identified as 43-year-old Alexander Smirnov, was apprehended in Las Vegas following his return from an international trip, as disclosed by the Justice Department.
NBC News reports that the accusations stem from the ongoing special counsel probe spearheaded by David Weiss, who concurrently oversees the legal proceedings against Hunter Biden.
Weiss, a President Donald Trump appointee for the chief federal prosecutor role in Delaware, has unveiled a 37-page indictment against Smirnov. The document accuses him of supplying the FBI with fabricated information post Joe Biden's presidential candidacy announcement in 2020, according to NBC News.
Central to the indictment is the allegation that Smirnov, an FBI informant since 2010, concocted stories about the Bidens' dealings with Burisma, a Ukrainian energy firm where Hunter Biden was previously employed. Smirnov falsely alleged that Burisma executives hired Hunter Biden expecting protection from various issues through his father's influence, further accusing them of a $5 million payoff to both Bidens, a narrative he knew to be unfounded.
Contrary to his allegations, prosecutors say Smirnov's actual interactions with Burisma executives occurred in 2017, a period when Joe Biden had concluded his vice-presidential tenure and could not sway U.S. policy. The indictment highlights Smirnov's bias against Joe Biden, noting his transformation of mundane business interactions into unfounded bribery claims against the then-presidential candidate.
This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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